Save One
by purplepidgioncommandbase
Summary: The day finally happened. Hal had been harnessed. Now he must cope with having an alien leech on his back and marked as a potential threat to his loved ones. Will he be strong enough to face the coming storm? -the title and all chapters will be named using SOTY song titles that are attuned to those chapters. WAR: Major Hal whump!
1. Save One

Hal had been separated from the group for about an hour now, he was quickly and quietly making his way down a street when the sound of a mech. approaching changed his course and he turned and ran down an alley.

He had lost his weapon when he had been too close to an explosion and consequently thrown against a wall, his weapon clattering away somewhere he was unable to quickly grab and run.

Ducking behind a dumpster He tried to catch his breath, his heart hammering against his chest. The sound of the mech. approaching quickly quieted him and he craned his head to peer around the side, he was surprised when he saw no mech. His brow furrowed he made the mistake of not checking the entire area, when he slowly stood up he was immediately ambushed.

Four of them came out from both ends of the alley, two more crawling down the sides of buildings giving him no chance of escape. The mechs. and skitters weren't the only ones that were surrounding him, standing in front of them was his harnessed girlfriend, Karen.

She was smiling at him, god how he had missed that smile! But now that smile was fake, no real emotions in her eyes but he was so very tempted to run up and hug her anyways.

"Hello Hal" she began walking towards him, he was frozen to the spot, part of him wanted to run but the more dominating part just wanted to be near her again.

Stopping in front of him she reached out and touched his cheek, he should have flinched at her alien touch but instead he leaned into it, "god, I miss you" he closed his eyes and tears slowly fell from his eyes.

"I'm here now Hal, we never have to be apart again. All you have to do is take my hand" she raised her hand, holding it out for him to take.

"What about my family? They already went through enough pain when Ben was taken, I can't do that to them" he took a step back but she grabbed his hand, not in a gentle way but a bone crushing way, it felt like she was trying to break his fingers.

Her grip forced him to kneel and he thought he could hear his ring finger snap, but he couldn't be sure because it felt like all his fingers were snapping.

"Please don't make this any more difficult than it has to be. You are strong Hal, and you know where the 2nd Mass is stationed, you are of use to us. Our way of living is much better, you'll see, no pain, no sadness, just never ending complacency" the smile remained on her face, obtaining a creepy tone to it.

"By being a harnessed zombie? You call that better? The real Karen would never submit to a mindless existence, your just a puppet that looks like her" he glared at it, no longer would he call it Karen, she may be in there somewhere but right now she was not in control and he would not taint her name.

Lights from the mechs' weapons came on, spotlighting the two, a sign that his time to voluntarily go with them was coming to an end, he had to make a decision.

Looking up at her he managed to glare through the blinding pain he was experiencing, "Go fuck yourself"

Before he could congratulate himself for telling an alien to go fuck itself he felt the familiar bite of a stun blast hit him from behind and with a few spasms of his body he was out.

When he woke back up he found himself lying on a cold concrete floor, it was dark and smelled like cleaning products. Scouting the area within his view he discovered that he was alone, he didn't know whether he should be suspicious or happy at that fact, it could be a trap.

Pulling himself up, he groaned at the pain his movements caused, there wasn't enough light to look up at his hand but by touching it he could feel that it was slightly swollen and hurt like hell.

Trying to stand he found that his legs had fallen asleep and he collapsed back down, stupidly he tried to stop his fall with his injured hand and caused himself even more pain, and with that pain he cried out, giving away to his captives, he knew must be nearby, that he was awake.

Just as he suspected he could hear the skittering of skitters approaching and the single human footsteps that were approaching. Entering first was Karen, followed by two skitters.

As they approached him he tried to crawl away but his body was in too much pain so he didn't get very far.

"So this is how it's going to go down? Are you going to pin me down and stick that alien leach on my back?" he was trying to be cocky but on the inside he was scared out of his fucking mind!

Ignoring his remark she grabbed his arm and started to drag him from the room, he felt more than pathetic that he was still too weak to do more than weakly struggle as he was led to his zombification.

Tom punched the bars in front of him, his mind so deep with rage and worry that the pain didn't even register. Weaver had forbidden him from going back for his son, and the worst part was that he had locked him in what was once a sport equipment locker but was now a holding cell; needless to say Weaver did not trust him not to go off on his own, as he should have because that is exactly what he was going to do as soon as he got out of here.

Another precaution that Weaver had taken was that he wasn't allowed visitors, not even by his sons Matt and Ben, the only person that was permitted to see him was Weaver, and if an emergency arose Dr. Glass, either than that he was completely isolated.

There were two armed guards that were stationed outside the door, that was also locked, this treatment made him feel like he was a prisoner of war, in a way he was. His eldest son was out there all alone and he was locked in a goddamn locker!

The door to the room unlocked and Weaver entered, the two guards closed the door and went back to their positions.

"Let me the hell out of here Weaver! I need to find my son!" he demanded, banging on the cell bars.

Weaver shook his head, "I'm sorry Tom but I can't do that. Your son has been MIA now for 36 hrs. the chances of finding your son unharnessed is slim to none. Sending you out there would be too much of a risk, one that I'm not willing to take"

"We found Ben months after he had been taken, and Dr. Glass knows how to remove the harnesses and keep the individual alive!" he argued, growing more and more restless by the minute.

"I'm sorry Tom, my decisions final" Weaver turned and exited the room, Tom pounded away at the bars behind him, demanding to be released.

When the door closed Tom punched the bar one more time before slumping to the cold hard floor, tears collecting in his eyes and trickling down his cheeks. With his eyes clenched shut he kicked the bars in front of him.

"I promise Hal, I'm going to save you, no matter what it takes"

Karen had dragged him to another room, this one had a metal table positioned in the middle of the room. Without much difficulty she managed to pull him up onto the table, stomach first, and strapped him down.

Three skitters entered the room as well, surrounding him, looking down at him like he was a specimen, which in their eyes he guessed he was.

So this was it, he was going to be harnessed.

A hissing sound startled him, he didn't know from what but he knew that it couldn't be anything good. He could tell the moment the harness was placed, the hissing sounded again and this time was followed by a piercing pain that traveled from his neck down his spine; crying out in pain he clenched the edge of the table, the feeling of his blood sliding down his back sickened him.

"The process is almost complete Hal, all that's left is the activation" she spoke in that calm voice, which was really grating on his nerves.

Before he could retort in any way he actually felt her activate the leach on his back. A bright light clouded his vision and his mind started to feel fuzzy and the noises around him began to fade; so this was what it was like to be empty.

Wait...no...something's not right, he didn't feel like he was trapped in his own mind, and he certainly didn't feel like collecting scrap metal for the skitters, the next test that he did was attempt to move his own limbs, he could do that too! Was his harness broken or something? Not that he was complaining, but what the hell was going on?

It turned out that his harness wasn't completely defective, his eyes widened when a short strand of static entered his hearing followed by an indescribable flow of what appeared to be a language, the closest he could compare it to was the sound a computer makes when it faces interference and a whining growl, and the strangest part of it all was that he could understand it!

The voice was commanding him to rise, apparently in the short amount of time he had been thinking Karen had unstrapped him.

Not wanting them to catch on that his harness wasn't working correctly he rose from the table and stood before them, making sure to have his eyes look as emotionless as possible. He hoped they wouldn't catch on.

Karen walked around the table and stood in front of him, that same smile on her face, "welcome Hal"

His first set of instructions were to follow Karen where she would show him what to do on their latest assignment, which of course was collecting scrap metal, what a surprise.

Once she led him to where the other harnessed kids were scavenging she went to collect with another group. Picking up a long metal rod he followed another kid to a pile that must have been close to 3 ft tall.

Walking back over to the pile he looked around at the kids, he recognized some from the bulletin board in the school, and then there were others that he didn't.

When a skitter approached him he picked up a broken car bumper and walked to the pile, making sure to maintain his emotionless mask, the skitter watched him for a few moments, seeming to calculate his movements before moving on.

Keeping up this act was not going to be easy, but he only planned on doing this until he could find a perfect time to escape.

Collecting metal scrap under the scorching sun, consequently making the scraps unbelievably hot to the touch, he had to bite his lip from crying out when his skin felt like molten lava was being poured all over it and using all his will not to throw the scrap down. Hal surmised that they must have been collecting for about 6 hours now and his hands were as red as tomatoes, his throat felt like sandpaper and he was so exhausted that he could drop at any moment.

But it didn't look like they were going to be stopping any time soon if the huge amount of damaged and broken materials that were being dragged over by two skitters said anything. The familiar whining growl entered his hearing, it was them ordering him and a few others to get to work on the pile they had brought over.

He broke off a door that was hanging by wires and dragged it over to the pile that resembled a skyscraper now then went back to collecting more. As he worked he could feel the eyes of the skitters on his neck, along with noticing the occasional glances that Karen was shooting his way.

Maybe they were suspicious of him?

The sound of gunfire interrupted his musings and he dodged out of the way just in time to miss being hit by a stray bullet that was clearly meant for the skitter that was standing behind him.

Hal frantically looked around, trying to spot where the shooters were, he finally spotted two snipers up on a roof but there was certainly more shooters because not all the bullets were coming from their angle.

Looking closer at the shooters that he could see he realized that he knew them, it was Dai and Anthony! He wanted to run to them, hug them and go back to the 2nd Mass. HQ but he knew that his chances of reaching them and not drawing suspicion to himself were too ridiculously low to compare.

As he laid low in order to protect himself from shrapnel he watched as a man that he didn't recognize run out from a building and scoop up a little girl who was mindlessly standing in the center of all the chaos, not even flinching when a car blew up from a bullet hitting the gas tank.

Dai and Anthony covered him as the man ran back to the safety of the building he had appeared from then as soon as the child was safely recovered retreated. A few of the skitters went after them while the other few remained behind and gathered the harnessed, including Hal, and went back to the hospital.

Hal's appearance hadn't gone unnoticed by Dai or Anthony, they had both spotted him as soon as they had aimed their weapons in his general direction, they had had to take a double look just to be sure that their eyes weren't deceiving them. Both wanted to rescue him from the skitters but they barely had enough men and ammunition to rescue the little girl, it had killed them but they vowed that they would personally tell Tom and to also promise him that they would find a way to get his son back.


	2. Terrified

-Tom-

Tom had somehow found a way to fall asleep for more than 2 minutes without awaking from a nightmare that involved all of his sons being taken away from him by the skitters when his sleep was disturbed when the door to his cell screeched open.

Now fully awake Tom was pleasantly surprised to see that it was Dai and Anthony. Rising from the floor he greeted them,

"Hey guys, what brings you to my miserable part of the world? And how the hell did you manage to get past the guards?"

"We may have told them that someone had broken into the armory and was messing around with a few guns and ammunition" Anthony smiled.

All three laughed and when the laughter died down Dai said what they had come to tell him.

"We found him Tom, we found Hal"

He couldn't believe what he was hearing so he asked Dai to repeat that and with a smile he repeated his earlier statement. Almost losing his balance but luckily being caught by Anthony he leaned himself against the cell until his shock subsided, but that was probably not going to happen anytime soon.

"Where?" his voice was breathy and tinged with disbelief and happiness.

"In sector 2 of the city, we were on an unsanctioned rescue mission to rescue Phil's little girl and we saw Hal down there, I'm sorry Tom but he was harnessed"

At hearing that his oldest was harnessed he lost the strength to stand and slid down to the ground, Dai continued to talk in the background but none of what he said registered, his mind was going back in time to before the invasion and his family was whole and happy.

Dai saw that Tom was faraway so he kneeled down and placed his hand on his shoulder, "we're going to get him back Tom, I promise you"

Tom met his assuring gaze and he managed a small grateful smile. Their conversation was interrupted when the door to the room opened and Weaver walked in and by the expression on his face he had found out about their rescue mission and was none too happy.

"I seem to recall rejecting a certain rescue mission and yet I'm informed that you two and Phil went anyways" Weaver may have had a smile on his face but he was barely containing the steam puffing out his ears.

Dai and Anthony both turned to face the captain, not an ounce of regret for what they had done showed in their composures, if anything there was pride! They had successfully rescued a little girl and reunited her with her family and not only that but they also found Hal.

"We had to do something sir, it could've been months before we spotted her again and when the perfect moment to strike presented itself we took it" Anthony explained, hoping that Weaver's own history would persuade him to see things their way.

For a moment it looked like he was going to lean in their favor but that hope was dashed by what he said next, "that doesn't excuse the insubordinance you have shown by defying a direct order. I'm putting you both in solitary confinement until I see it fit that you should be released" signaling the two guards that sported their own glares, most definitely from the lie they had been told, grabbed their own prisoner and awaited their next orders.

"Put them in separate rooms, anywhere that doesn't have a window or a chance of escape will do, meanwhile Tom and I are going to have a little talk" Tom rose from the floor and used his height to tower over Weaver, a glare etched onto his face.

The sound of the door closing and locking left an ominous feel to the air.

-Hal-

It was nighttime now, the skitters had bundled little groups of the children, himself included, and were sleeping peacefully, everyone except him that is.

He needed to get out of here, this would be one of the opportune times to try but he could barely move a muscle and the skitters head was right in front of him and if that wasn't bad enough he had the misfortune of sharing the same skitter as Karen.

watching her sleep he could almost imagine that everything was back to normal, she looked so innocent, no creepy smile or emotionless eyes, just pure innocence, he only wished it were true but for now he had to accept that his Karen was gone. But that didn't mean it was going to be easy.

Without his permission he found himself growing tired, how he was able to feel nostalgic enough in the embrace of a skitter stupefied him he was unable to fight off its attack and he lost his battle with consciousness.

The dream he had was indescribable, there was a long watery tunnel that was filled and flashing with different colors, some he didn't even recognize, and sound was jumping off of the tunnel walls hitting him then repeating the process over again. But he wasn't the only one there, looking around him he could see the other children, Karen included, watching the lightshow in awe, genuine smiles on their faces. Somehow, he didn't know exactly how, but he just knew that this was the real Karen, all of them were sharing this dream, this subconscious if you will.

walking over to her, she turned to him and a watery smile came over her, filled with emotions he embraced her and they laughed in happiness at being reunited at last. Pulling away enough to see face to face he couldn't help reaching out and running his fingers across her cheek, the sensation was peculiar, he couldn't say that he felt her soft skin, as he remembered it being, but it felt more like he was touching water. This place was really starting to mess with his mind.

"I never thought I'd see you again, that day when they took us I woke up on this cold hard table and the next thing I know I'm trapped inside my own mind, screaming, begging them to release me! For so long this place has been the only thing that has kept me sane, besides thoughts of seeing you again of course, but through this weird connection we're able to see and talk with each other. I kept praying I'd see you again but I never once wished that it would be like this" she went back to resting her head on his shoulder, sobs that produced no detectable tears erupted from her and he did his best to try and comfort her.

"It's going to be okay, I'm going to get us out of here, all of us!" he directed the last part at all the children, who turned to look at him.

Karen pulled away from him, questions and disbelief showing in her eyes.

"How are you going to do that? We don't have control of our bodies Hal, and the only time we're ever truly ourselves is when we're here"

Smiling Hal shook his head, "I have control Karen, for whatever reason my harness didn't take away my control, I still can hear them but other than that they have no control over me"

The reaction he got at this was not what he expected, Karen looked sad but also determined, "that may be the case with you Hal but the rest of us are fully under their control, as much as it pains me to say this you're the one who needs to escape, we can't go with you" she bowed her head in sorrow.

No! There was no way that he was going to leave them here, "I'll find a way to get us all out of here, because there is no way that I'm leaving without you" he declared.

Shaking her head she looked back up at him, "you have to go without us Hal, you have a better chance of escaping on your own, our minds may be on your side but our bodies are you enemies, as soon as you get the chance run, run back to the Mass. tell them everything and then when you have enough people you can come back for us" leaning up she kissed him, untouchable tears trailing down her glistening skin, Hal had tears of his own that was just as un-feelable as the sky.

He wanted to argue further but the scenery around them began to flicker and the colors began mixing together to create black.

"What's going on?"

"They're waking up! Hal listen to me, do as I said and run, run and don't look back" just as the colors began to drown them Karen wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her lips against his own, mentally he knew her lips were on his but he was unable to feel them.

Snapping his eyes open he found that he had tear marks running down his face so he was quick to wipe the evidence away before anyone looked too closely. The skitter uncurled it's tentacle like arms and the children it was holding walked out of the embrace, forming a circle around it, Hal followed suit, not wanting to put suspicion on himself.

The skitter looked at them, it almost seemed as if it was admiring them, as if they were his rare collectibles. Hal felt sick to his stomach, they were like toys to them.

Soon they were being led off to continue yesterday's task of collecting scrap metal, there were still large pieces of metal that could be collected from various buildings and abandoned vehicles.

He knew that as soon as all the scrap metal in this area was collected they would be moved, that was when he would make his move, he may not get another chance and he didn't want to get any further from the Mass. then he already was.

Subtly looking around he saw that there wasn't many vehicles left to collect from and all of the metal that was attached to the buildings in the area had been stripped bare, he didn't have much longer to perfect his escape plan, which was merely run and try not to get caught.

A sudden pulse of interference and a whiny growl entered his mind, it was an order from one a mech. to follow it back inside the building. H wasn't the only one though, Karen was requested to come as well.

Walking inside the building they were met by two skitters and three more mechs. Something was going on, and whatever it was something big.

The familiar language entered his mind and he had to control himself from adamantly refusing and running away, or better yet attacking the bastards for even thinking he would do that! They were ordering Karen and him to travel together with two of the skitters and collect more children.

But since he couldn't refuse without giving away his free mind he silently followed Karen and he could hear the skittering of skitters trailing behind them.

Trudging past the other children they started their journey through the city, veering out of the destroyed city to walk along the forested area.

It was night now, he didn't know how long they had been walking, though he knew that it had to have been for more than a few hours. Since being harnessed he hadn't had anything to eat or drink for the past day and a half but he was mystified to find that he felt neither hunger or thirst and now that he truly thought about it the hand he had injured was no longer throbbing, he felt impeccably stronger and that troubled him deeply. Just how much had this harness manipulated his body?

The skitters in front of them stopped suddenly forcing Karen and Hal to halt as well. For a moment Hal was hopeful that they were going to stop and rest but their intentions were not so, parting, the skitters revealed a small cabin that had a faint flickering light coming from the inside. Hal suspected that this was going to be their first collection of the night.

Karen stepped forward and raised her hand to knock on the door, this whole moment felt so surreal, here he was in the woods standing before a cabin with two aliens and his alien-harnessed girlfriend about to abduct an unsuspecting child or possibly children.

Hal watched as the candle was quickly blown out and the sound of scuttling feet reached his ears.

"It's alright Lucas, Amanda we're not going to hurt you. We're going to take you to a place where you'll be cared for and surrounded by people that care for you both" Karen soothed them, Hal couldn't believe what he was hearing, and what surprised him most was that she knew their names!

From inside he could hear the faintest of scuffling before the rickety door to the cabin opened and two tear stained faces emerged. Karen walked forward and held out her hands, beckoning them to come to her.

Hal wanted to do something, push the children back inside and fight the aliens but no matter how badly he wanted to save the kids he had to think of the bigger picture, if he were able to escape he could tell Weaver what he knows and they can save all the children.

Cautiously, Lucas and Amanda walked out from behind the door and each took Karen by the hand, turning to look at him Karen walked over to him and presented him with Lucas.

"Lucas, this is my friend Hal, he's going to take good care of you until we get back to your new home" doing what was expected of him Hal held out his hand and the child hesitantly grabbed hold, looking up at him with fearful blue eyes. Both of them couldn't have been more than five.

An intense light lit up the area and Lucas gripped his hand tighter, his breath become erratic with fright.

"Don't be afraid children, everything is going to be all right" Karen soothed the children as she led Amanda towards the source of the light, a hovering space ship, Hal quickly looked around and saw that the skitters were blocking his only escape so he was forced to follow Karen, pulling Lucas along with him.

The ship opened and a skinny appeared in the lit pathway leading into the ship, waiting for the children to board. Karen dutifully led Amanda up the ramp and presented her to the alien who gently picked her up and handed her over to another skinny. Lucas was next. Hal looked down at Lucas and he was filled with self loathing at the terrified expression on his face, silent tears were falling down his face and his little body was shaking.

"Please Hal, I don't want to go with them, I want my mommy and daddy!" Lucas whimpered, valiantly trying to get his hand out of Hal's grasp.

His throat tightened and his gut churned with hatred for what the aliens were trying to make him do. He couldn't do it, he wouldn't willingly hand over an innocent child to be made a harnessed slave.

Squatting down Hal looked in Lucas' eyes, making sure that he was making eye contact before he spoke, "listen to me Lucas, when I tell you to I want you to run away as fast as you can, don't slow down, don't wait for me just get as far away from here as you can; can you do that for me?"

Receiving a nod Hal rose and taking a step forward he dropped Lucas' hand and shouted at him to run. Not wasting a moment Lucas took off like a bullet out of hell, almost being caught by a skitter but managing to jump out of the way in time and dash off into the forested area.

The aliens screeched in rage and aimed their weapons at him, he threw himself out of the way in time to avoid being blown up and jumped to his feet to flee only to be caught by Karen. He tried to punch her but she ducked and retaliated by grabbing his neck and cutting off his air supply.

"I knew there was something wrong with you" with her amplified strength she lifted him high enough off the ground where his feet barely touched the ground and he was forced to look down at her. Hal futily clawed at her hand, his vision beginning to blacken and a feeling of floating came over him. Right before he passed out he could faintly hear the aliens and Karen communicating then all he saw was black.


	3. Tell Me

**I realize that I didn't put the disclaimer in but here goes: I do not own falling skies or any of the characters in it, besides my OC's, otherwise nada, though if I did Hal would get a lot more screen time ; )**

Tom didn't know how long he had been in there, the continuous amount of time was slowly making him go crazy.

Weaver had stayed with him for a little while, plainly telling him that Hal was gone and chances were he was never going to see him again, or he would and he would be harnessed and no longer his son.

The door to the room opened and a guard came in carrying a plate with an oatmeal looking substance in a bowl and a small cup of water. A second guard stood behind him, his gun trained on Tom as the first guard opened the door and handed Tom the tray, keeping a watchful eye on him to make sure that he wouldn't try to escape.

Accepting the plate Tom sat back down, the door was closed and the two guards left. His appetite nonexistent he set the plate aside and rested his head against the bars. He needed to get out of here, if not to rescue Hal but to at least take care of his other two sons, they needed their father and he just prayed that Pope wasn't planning on using his absence to get to Ben.

He needed to talk with someone, someone that he could trust, like Dr. Glass, She was one of the few people that were actually allowed to see him, but only when needed, so he would have to do something to make her presence required. Looking around his eyes zeroed in on the plate his meal had come in on, inspiration striking he picked the plate up, he had to make sure that he had enough time to cut himself before the guards came in.

Relaxing his grip the plate fell and shattered into a few different sized pieces on the floor, quickly squatting down he picked up a rather wicked looking shard and dragged the point across his palm. He almost wasn't quick enough because in no time the guards had come back in and saw his bleeding hand.

"What the hell happened?" one of the guards demanded, lowering his weapon when he saw that there was no real threat.

"I accidentally dropped the plate and I was trying to pick the shards up when I cut myself" he showed them the rather impressive slice across his palm and the first guy shook his head in annoyance.

"You go get Dr. Glass, I'll stay with him until you get back" the first guard ordered and the second nodded and exited the room, jogging down to Dr. Glass' makeshift infirmary.

A few minutes later the guard returned with Dr. Glass and the door was opened for her to go inside and tend to his wound.

Avoiding the shards she kneeled down in front of him and gently picked up his hand to inspect the injury.

"Looks like you're going to need stitches, even in a cell you still managed to find a way to hurt yourself" she chuckled, turning to the guards she told them that she was going to need to take him back to her infirmary so that she could properly clean and stitch the wound.

The guards looked hesitant, Tom wasn't supposed to leave his cell, that was the direct order that Weaver had given them and they didn't want to risk disobeying Weaver's order because the last two soldiers that did ended up in their own cells.

Seeing their hesitation Dr. Glass rose and strode over to them, "look I know Weaver ordered you guys not to let Tom out but I know for a fact that Weaver would not like to know that Tom succumbed to an infection that could have been prevented had it not been properly taken care of by me"

Her reasoning seemed to be having an effect because a moment later Dr. Glass and him were being escorted down the hallway to her infirmary.

"Okay Tom sit down in that chair over there while I get my supplies together" she walked over to a cupboard and Tom sat down in the chair and watched the two guards take up base outside the doorway, they made sure to keep the door opened so that they could keep an eye on the pair.

Dr. Glass walked back over to him with a small bottle of alcohol and a needle and thread. Taking his hand she gave him a warning of the impending pain then followed through, he clenched his eyes shut along with his mouth at the excruciating pain the combination of alcohol and an open wound created.

Gently dabbing away the excessive blood with a towel she then set the towel down and picked up the needle and looping a piece of thread through it she then sterilized the needle with the alcohol and set to work.

"You did a pretty good job on this cut Tom, I take it you really needed to talk with me about something" she kept her voice low so that the guards couldn't hear.

He didn't hide the smile that came when he saw that he had been found out, "I needed to see someone I trust that can tell me how my boys are doing, making sure that nothing bad happens to them"

She looked up at him and stopped her sewing, "Matt and Ben are doing fine, they miss you like crazy and haven't stopped pestering Weaver to let you out, and don't worry I've made sure Pope hasn't gone anywhere near Ben or Matt" she got back to work on his hand but stopped again at his next question.

"Do they know about what happened to Hal?" he hoped they didn't, he didn't want them to know that their big brother was out there somewhere being controlled by the aliens.

He was slightly relieved when he saw her shake her head, "I don't think so, they may suspect but I've been telling them that he is on a special assignment for Weaver that was probably going to take a few days to complete. I feel awful lying to them but I don't think they would be able to handle the truth, especially Ben, I don't want him to go back in his mind to when he was harnessed"

With a few more neat stitches she picked up a gauze band-aid and laid it over the stitches then picked up a roll of gauze and wrapped the dressing around his hand until she was satisfied and pinned it down with a piece of tape.

The guards saw that she was done and entered the room, intent on taking Tom back to his cell, before he let them take him away he made one request to Dr. Glass,

"Take of my boys, your one of the few people I trust to watch after them" receiving a smile and a nod as his answer Tom allowed the guards to lead him back to his homey cell.

-Hal-

When Hal woke up he found that he was all alone, the skitters, ship and Karen were gone. He also found that he had acquired a new accessory around his neck, he also made sure to check his back and was disappointed to find that he was still harnessed.

Getting up from the ground he took a moment to assess his location, he was still in the same spot he had lost consciousness in so that was good, it meant that they hadn't dragged him to a completely new place. The next thing on his list was to figure out what was around his neck.

Still a little disoriented he stumbled across the grass to look for a stream or river to see what the accessory was. He could hear the sound of running water nearby so, following the sound, he found his way to the small stream that ran through the area.

Bending down on his knees he looked into the pool of water and gasped, wrapped around his neck was an alien device, he couldn't quite tell what it was but he could feel the power it contained vibrating against his skin; all he knew for a fact was that whatever this device was it was not good.

Reaching up Hal desperately started clawing at the device, fear and fury filling him at what the aliens had put on him while he was unconscious. There were so many possibilities as to what it was, more than he could even think of, he needed to get the damn thing off him now!

Wrestling with the thing for a good ten minutes he was forced to admit defeat, at least until he got his hands on some tools.

Collapsing to the ground he closed his eyes for a moment before picking himself up and starting his journey, his destination unknown. As he was walking he heard the sound of twigs snapping and froze, another twig snapped and he whipped around to attack but just barely managed to stop himself when he saw that it was Lucas.

"Lucas? What are you doing here?" squatting down so that he was eye level with the boy he waited for him to answer.

Sniffling a little Lucas replied, "I didn't know where to go, and I was afraid that the aliens were going to find me and hurt me" he rubbed at his eyes, making them even redder than they already were and a hiccup escaped him.

He couldn't leave him alone out here, the skitters would definitely find him and harness him. Standing upright he took Lucas' hand, "you can come with me"

The sun was still up so they wouldn't have the cover of night but if they hurried they should be able to find a decent spot to make camp.

Hal and Lucas had been walking for around ten minutes when Lucas finally asked the question that Hal had been dreading, "what's going to happen to my sister?"

Coming to a stop Hal released his hand and kneeled down in front of him again. He didn't know how to voice the truth, how do you tell a child that his sister had been taken by the aliens to be turned into a slave?

Taking a breath he did the best he could, "Lucas, Amanda was taken by the aliens to be used as a...(he was unsure how to voice the next part) as a worker, it's likely that you're not going to see her for a long time and if you do she's not going to be the same Amanda that you remember"

Lucas' expression was pinched in sadness and Hal desperately wanted to take his words back, tell him instead that the aliens were simply taking her for a little ride through space in their spaceship then she would be returned; but he couldn't go back in time and frankly the boy should know the truth now rather than having to face it later on.

He wasn't quick enough, at hearing that he would probably never see his sister again Lucas panicked, screaming no at the top of his lungs he ran past Hal.

Chasing after him Hal was slightly impressed with the speed that the kid could run and also by his own speed, he had always been a decent runner but now he was running at the rate of an Olympic athlete. He had only been in pursuit for maybe a few seconds before he finally caught up to Lucas and, wrapping his arm around his waist he scooped him off the ground and didn't even stumble when the boy began to kick his short legs, screaming at the top of his lungs.

"Lucas! Lucas listen to me! You need to lower your voice and calm down! We don't want the aliens to find us" Hal hissed, trying to keep his own voice down.

"I want my sister! I want my sister!" not listening to Hal's plead, he continued kicking and screaming.

Nearby Hal suddenly heard the unmistakable sound of a mech. approaching. Clapping his hand over Lucas' mouth, affectively muffling his screams he listened harder and sure enough it was definitely getting closer. Scanning the area he was panicked to see that the area they had stopped at was void of any structure or nature that they could hide in or behind. They were trapped.

Emerging from the trees a mech. spotted them and lifted its weapon and opened fire, covering Lucas' body with his own Hal barely escaped being blown up. The hits kept coming in no obvious pattern so in order to escape they were going to have to crawl.

Ordering Lucas to follow him they both started crawling, stopping and changing position once in a while to go around a crater that had been created from a blast.

Since they were crawling they weren't able to move that fast, Hal could have increased his speed but that would mean leaving Lucas behind and he wasn't going to do that. A shadow fell over them and they paused, craning his head Hal's eyes widened when he saw that the mech. was towering over them.

Training its weapon on them Hal was preparing himself to be blown away when rapid gunfire bounced off the back of the mech. diverting its attention to the shooters that were 10 ft. away. Taking the moment Hal picked Lucas up from the ground and ran to the right, planning on running around to the group of shooters.

Someone must have changed their weapon because the next weapon that was fired turned out to be a bazooka that impaled itself into his chest, causing the alien to explode.

Seeing that the mech. had been destroyed Hal led Lucas to the approaching group and a smile lit up his face when he saw Maggie, Anthony and Dai! Quickening his pace he met them halfway and surprised Maggie when he threw his arms around her, doing the same to Anthony and Dai.

The three were understandably shocked by his actions, along with the rest of the group at the behavior he was displaying. He was harnessed and there was also another device around his neck that looked like a collar, they knew and saw this and yet he was acting like a regular person who had reunited with old friends.

Stepping back he kept his smile as he looked at the group in turn, "I thought I was never going to see you guys again, how's my dad? My brothers?" he was spouting off questions like he had been gone longer than a few days but in this time a few days could bring a lot of impact.

Lucas was looking at the new strangers with unease and hid himself behind Hal, clinging to his leg and peaking his head out. Looking down at Lucas and noting how nervous he looked he tried to calm his fears, "it's okay Lucas, they're not going to hurt you, they're the good guys and they saved our lives, you don't need to be afraid of them"

Hesitating a moment Lucas stepped out from behind Hal and shyly said hello.

Shaking himself out of his shock Dai introduced himself along with Anthony and Maggie and the other people in the group but he soon told them that they had to get back to camp.

At the mention of camp Hal's smile intensified. He was going to be able to see his family and friends again! But his feelings of euphoria faded when he remembered that he was harnessed now and not only that but he was also collared with another alien device.

He saw the sort of treatment his brother and Rick had received when they had returned, would his be even worse because of his going away gift from the aliens?

**A/N: Sorry if the characters are a little out of character and I don't know for a fact if Maggie was with the group at the school or not but in this story she is so there, and there may also be some more characters that may seem out of place but just go with. **

**Please Review!**


	4. Wake Up

-Hal + other characters-

Walking alongside his old friends joking around and talking with them almost allowed Hal to pretend that he had never been taken but with a quick brush of his hand against the thing around his throat he was brought back to reality and his smile dimmed just a little.

Anthony told them that they were almost at camp and Hal's heart rate picked up a little, the anxiety of his reunion with his family weighing heavily on his mind, he knew without a doubt that his father and brothers would happily embrace him but he was worried about what the rest of the mass would think.

He wasn't expecting everyone to happily take him back, there would be suspicion and distrust placed on him even when his harness was removed and then there was the device around his neck. He still had no idea what the thing was and he caught people in the group, his friends included, staring at it whenever they thought he wasn't looking.

Lucas hadn't said anything since saying hello to their rescuers, which was understandable considering that he didn't know these people, Hal was a little surprised that he had been so talkative when they had first met.

Coming to a stop at the top of a hill they looked down at the 2nd Mass. Home, he was finally home!

"Tom is going to flip his lid when he sees you" Anthony commented as they made the long trek down the hill. As if being punched in the gut Anthony stuttered with his next step, clueing in Hal that something was wrong.

The group stopped, everyone, excluding Hal and Lucas, looking sympathetically at Hal for reasons unknown to him, "what's going on? What aren't you telling me?" his gut was screaming at him that it involved his father somehow.

Maggie was the one who answered him, "on the day that you were taken Tom went a little berserk at the camp when Weaver told him that he couldn't send out a rescue team. He tried to attack him but was restrained by two guards and put in a cell to cool down, he's still in there and not allowed any visitors besides Weaver himself and Dr. Glass in case of an emergency"

Hal wasn't surprised, his dad would do anything to protect his boys and that included killing for them but he hadn't expected Weaver's reaction, if he was correct it wouldn't have taken long for them to have gotten back to camp and returned with a rescue team, so why had Weaver refused?

There was also risks of losing fighters but Hal hadn't been MIA any longer than an hour, half that if they had booked it back, he could have been saved from the fate he had been dealt.

"Why is my father still in a cell? How long have I been gone?"

"Three and a half days" Maggie answered, watching his reaction to see how he was taking the news, from what she could gather from his gripped knuckles and rigid posture, not too well, understandable considering this was his father they were talking about.

Placing her hand on his shoulder, she gave his shoulder a reassuring squeeze then let go, "I'm sure once you get back Weaver will see no reason to keep him contained any longer and release him" she tried to assure him, but somehow she knew that her words were falling on deaf ears.

"We should keep going, it looks like a storm's coming in and I don't know about you guys but I sure don't want to risk catching a cold" Anthony stepped forward and started the trek down the hill towards the sheltered camp of the 2nd Mass.

Still not entirely cooled down but determined to get to the camp Hal's pace quickly gained on the others until it was them trying to keep up with him and Lucas who was being dragged along for the ride.

Reaching the camp he didn't react to the surprised looks he got from the people he passed, not even when Jimmy saw him and ran up to him, trying to talk to him, but he walked around him and continued walking to his destination, his gaze never wavering from the open door of the command center.

bursting into the room he stalked over to an unsuspecting Weaver and before the Captain knew what hit him Hal had slugged him across the face then while he was momentarily stunned Hal tackled him to the ground and continued to beat him.

The two men tried to pull him off the Captain but Hal was a lot stronger than he had been before, he merely brushed their hands away and continued to beat the living crap out of the asshole on the ground.

"You bastard!" Hal spat, sending a well aimed punch to the side of Weaver's face.

During all this Lucas had managed to escape Hal's grip and was cowering in a corner of the room, tears trickling down his face.

Seeing no other way to stop the beating one of the men picked up a rifle, crept up behind the harnessed teen and, raising the rifle rammed the butt into the back of his skull.

Rising from the ground, wiping the blood off his face, Weaver approached Hal with a look combined with anger and disbelief. Spitting the blood that had gathered in his mouth he looked down at the unconscious teen.

"Not the kind of reunion I was expecting" he watched the steady rise and fall of Hal's chest and was only slightly comforted that he had been subdued before the teen could kill him.

"Take him to Dr. Glass, see if she can get that damn thing off him, but keep an eye on him" Weaver spared him one last glance before walking back to his table and sitting down.

Following his orders the two men hauled Hal up from the ground and lugged him out of the classroom towards the medical room.

Weaver shook his head and paused when he heard the sniffling of Lucas who was still in the corner, his fatherly side coming out he walked over to the boy and kneeled down in front of him,

"Hey there kid, my name's Captain Weaver, but you can call me Weaver, what's your name?" he made sure to keep a safe distance away from him as to not scare him and kept his movements slow and exaggerated.

Peaking up from under his bangs he eyed the strange man wearily, he didn't know if he should trust this man, he didn't seem like a bad man but he got this strange sense that underneath this man could turn scary.

Seeing that he wasn't going to get anything out of the kid he stood up and walked to the door, sticking his head out and called for Lourdes. The young woman hurried over to him and entered the room at his insistence,

"What's going on Weaver, is someone hurt?" her eyes scanned the room and stopped when they landed on the small boy in the corner.

Not needing to be told she slowly approached the frightened boy, and like Weaver had done, kneeled down in front of him at a safe distance.

Lucas watched the lady's movements, wondering what she was going to do.

"Hi there, I'm Lourdes, I help Dr. Glass help hurt and sick people, what's your name?" her smile was small but filled with compassion for the little boy in front of her, hoping to earn the boy's trust.

This lady was nice, he couldn't detect any badness coming off of her so he felt that he could trust her, he was still a little nervous of the man who called himself Weaver.

"L-Lucas" he whispered, she had to strain to hear him but her smile grew when she heard his reply,

"Lucas? That's a nice name, do you want to come with me to get some food? I'm pretty sure that there's even some cookies" standing upright she held out her hand and Lucas slowly rose and shakily took the hand, his stomach growling at the mention of food, he didn't know how long it had been since he had eaten.

Chuckling a little at the rumble she heard Lourdes led Lucas out of the room and down to the cafeteria to get some food in his belly.

-Hal-

Hal was getting really tired of being knocked out, but different from the other times he actually recognized the place he had woken up to, he was in the medical room in the school, and from his gaze he was able to tell that he was on his stomach, that and the pressure he was feeling in his stomach was another hint.

But what he was only recently familiar with was the constricting feeling of being strapped down, he didn't even have to guess to know that Dr. Glass was preparing to try and remove the harness.

He could faintly hear the sound of people talking behind him, but he was unable to ascertain whom the voices belonged to, though he could tell that they were both female so one voice most definitely belonged to Dr. Glass.

"Dr. Glass?" his voice was slightly slurred, he didn't know whether that was due to a concussion or something else.

A pair of legs appeared in his vision and he jumped when he felt a hand land on his shoulder, "it's okay Hal, it's me, Dr. Glass; and don't worry, we're going to get this thing off you"

Hal couldn't help the dark chuckle, "which one?"

Annie faltered when she looked back at the other device that was around his neck, Maggie had been with her to do what she could to help due to the fact that Lourdes was taking care of the young boy, the two had been discussing it and she had told her to go and get Scott.

"Now you're going to feel a slight prick" taking Hal's left hand she slid the needle in then pulled back and attached the IV drip, placing his hand back down on the stretcher she walked the short distance to the counter and picked up the necessary instruments.

Maggie must have informed Lourdes of the operation because she entered the room and was ready to assist.

Hal's vision started to blur and the noises in the room mixed together, giving in to the pull of sleep he closed his eyes and prayed that when he woke up the harness would be off, he didn't like to the think of the possibility that he wouldn't wake up, but if Dr. Glass couldn't remove the harness he would wish for death.

-Tom-

This was getting ridiculous! How much longer did Weaver think he could keep him locked up? It was only a matter of time before Dai or Anthony broke him out, or even Maggie.

Resting his head against the bars he closed his eyes, planning on trying to get the sleep that had been eluding him as of late but his plans were interrupted when the door to the room opened; expecting to see the guards he was surprised to see Maggie.

Rising from the floor he went as far as the cage would allow him, "Maggie? What are you doing here?"

"Hal's back Tom, we came across him and a younger boy when we were out patrolling. Dr. Glass is working on him now to get the harness off" she purposely left out the part about the extra alien device that was attached to his son.

Tom was god-smacked, Hal was back, he was alive! His marred face lit up and he smacked his hand against the bar in a burst of joy. Maggie smiled at his behavior, she only wished she could deliver news like this more often.

"How is he? Is he hurt?" he was dying to see his eldest son again, it felt like years since he had last seen him.

Maggie tried to keep her happy composure up, " he was a little banged up but nothing too serious, in fact he was acting like he wasn't even harnessed" she was still amazed at that.

Hearing this Tom paused, "what do you mean?" it wasn't that he wasn't happy that Hal had been acting like himself but it was odd considering that he was harnessed and should have been acting completely off kilter.

"Just that, he wasn't acting like the usual harnessed kids, it was like before when we went on patrols together"

He didn't know what to make of this, he was beyond happy that his son was back but also a little worried that another black cloud was headed their way.

"You said Annie was working on him?" he changed the subject, leaving his worries for a later time.

Maggie nodded in confirmation, "and I've got another thing that'll brighten your smile" reaching into her jacket pocket she retrieved a bobby pin, more specifically his way out.

"Let's get you to your son huh?" bending the end of the bobby she pushed the end into the keyhole and jimmied it around until they both heard the satisfying click.

Smiling victoriously she pocketed the bobby and pulled the door open. Stepping out of the cell Tom smiled at her, "thanks Maggie, I was wondering when someone was going to get me out of there. C'mon, let's go see my son" patting her on the back Tom walked up to the door and, cautiously looking out he saw that the coast was clear and motioned for Maggie to follow him.

-Annie-

Firing up the tool Annie walked back over to the stretcher and at her nod Lourdes lifted the harness. Once all the spikes had been sawed Annie carried the harness away and disposed of it by first stabbing it a few times then injecting it with nitroglycerin and setting it ablaze.

Both Lourdes and Scott stepped away to give Annie some room to check on her patient.

Picking up Hal's wrist she checked his pulse and was pleased that it was there, a little fast but that was too be expected, but she would still keep an eye on it.

"Lourdes would you help me with the restraints?" Annie started off and was joined by Lourdes, the job being done in 1 minute flat.

This was the moment when Tom and Maggie entered the room, Tom's steps slowed when he saw Hal on the stretcher, he looked to Annie and she nodded reassuringly.

Stepping closer to his son happy tears glistened in his eyes and he ruffled his son's hair, leaning down to place a kiss on his head. Now that he was closer he noticed the device around Hal's neck.

Seeing what he was looking at Scott walked up to the distressed father, "don't worry Tom, I'm going to figure out what that thing is and get it off him as soon as I can"

Not able to form words Tom nodded mutely, he couldn't help but think back to his earlier thoughts of a black cloud coming in, he just knew that whatever this thing was, it was going to cause everyone a lot of pain, especially Hal and that killed him the most.

**A/N: Sorry this chapter is so short, but I have a feeling all the chapters are going to be short. I hope you enjoyed this update and please, please review! Oh and sorry if the characters are a little OOC.**


	5. Tonight We Fall

-Hal-

Hal awoke to the sensation of someone holding his hand and he was happy to note that he no longer felt the unsettling constriction of the restraints. Opening his eyes he looked to his left and found Dr. Glass holding his hand, checking his pulse.

Noticing that he was awake she smiled and set his hand back down, "I'm glad to see you awake, how are you feeling?"

"Like I'm under water" he tried to wipe the sleep from his eyes but was stopped when he felt a slight pull in his hand, looking at the cause he saw that it was an IV.

"We've been keeping you on morphine to deal with the pain, you're going to be feeling a little groggy but it'll pass" Dr. Glass walked over to a counter and poured a cup of water, returning to him and helping him slowly sip from the cup.

Signaling that he had had his fill Annie took the cup away and placed the cup aside.

"How long have I been out?" he asked, looking the around the room the best he could, as if the environment would tell him.

"About a day and a half, I pretty much had to force Tom to leave and get some sleep just a few hours ago" at the mention of his dad Hal became much more alert.

His dad had been here, meaning he had seen the collar around his neck. What did his father think of him? He knew that he had been fine with Ben's spikes as a result of the harness but would he be as accepting of his spikes and the added collar? Hal was disturbed to find that he didn't know.

The door to the room opened and his father entered, looking down at the floor his eyes rose towards Hal and widened when he saw that his son was awake. Smiling with happiness he approached Hal and carefully enveloped him in a hug.

Hal hung onto his dad with all his might, closing his eyes and trying to pretend that everything was back to the way it had been before, before he had been taken and the aliens had come. But he had to wake up from the allusion when his dad pulled away but not completely, Tom had made sure to keep a steady hand on Hal's shoulder.

As if reading his thoughts he stated "we're going to figure this out Hal, I promise you" Tom leaned forward and kissed his eldest on the head.

Ben and Matt snuck into the room and over to their now conscious older sibling, each giving him a loving hug.

"I'm glad your back Hal, things were getting pretty boring around here" Ben grinned cautiously patting Hal on the shoulder.

Hal chuckled, "well I'll be sure to remedy that as soon as I get out of here"

-Annie-

Annie watched from afar at the family reunion and couldn't help the smile that bloomed, the Mason boys were back together just seeing them made her spirit lift a little. She was happy for them, they were like her second family and she had long ago made a vow that she would do whatever she had to, to protect them.

-Hal-

About 10 minutes went by before Annie came back over and told the boys that she needed to check Hal over. Backing up the three standing Masons made room for the doctor but kept their gaze on Hal.

Hal waited with baited breath as Dr. Glass examined his back, checking to make sure that there wasn't any signs of tenderness. When her fingers brushed across one of his spikes Hal shuddered at the foreign feeling; it felt like someone had ran a feather against his nervous system.

She pulled her hand back, "did that hurt?" she asked concerned, feeling Tom's anxious look on her back.

"N-no it just...feels weird" he explained, curling his fingers around the bar of the cot he was on.

Another body entered the room, this time it was Scott, who was carrying a tool box. Stopping beside Hal's cot he set the tool box on a nearby counter then put his attention back on Hal.

"All right young man, I'm just going to examine this device around your neck; I need you to tell me if you feel anything at all" waiting for Hal's confirmation he then set to work.

Hal's family and Annie were standing in the background, making sure they were out of Scott's way.

-Scott-

The device around Hal's neck most resembled a collar of sorts but on closer inspection he could see that there was a miniscule amount of vibration coming from within the device and there was no seam, indicating that there was another way to remove it, problem was he had no inkling to what that could be.

There was a small amount of space that separated the collar from Hal's neck but it was too small for him to be able to get even his pinky under.

"Tom could you hand me the flashlight" he held his hand out and waited for the feel of the object then shone the light down the crack, peering closely he could just make out a thin strip of a faint flashing light down the side of the device.

"Now what is that? Tom could you give me a hand here?" Tom appeared by his side and Scott handed him the flashlight,

"Keep the light aimed there while I dig a little deeper" retrieving a pair of tweezers Scott returned and very gently slipped the tweezers under the device and felt around until he came into contact with something, furthering his search he attempted to grab onto the rough area but quickly regretted doing so.

In a flash a surge of power swam through Scott's body, catapulting him a good foot in the air then crashing down onto the unforgiving floor.

Tom was not spared, although his attack wasn't as severe the shock still caused him to stumble back and feel a tingling sensation all throughout his body.

Hal had an experience as well, as soon as Scott had made contact with whatever that was his spikes began to glow and his body started to convulse.

-Annie-

Annie didn't know who to help first, as soon as Scott had gone flying she had sped to his side and was checking him over for injuries, along with checking his pulse, but as soon as she saw Hal convulsing on the table she was torn. Thankfully Lourdes stepped in and took over on Scott so Annie was able to hurry to Hal.

"Tom I need you to push him onto his side while I check his pulse" doing as he was told Tom gently but quickly pushed his son so that he was on his side and waited anxiously as Annie checked his pulse.

As expected it was beating erratically, he was sweating profusely and his breathing was ragged.

"What do we do now?" Tom asked, needing to do something to help his eldest, he couldn't handle watching his son like this.

"We wait it out, and if it doesn't stop in the next five minutes we'll go from there" Anne began to count in her head, wincing in sympathy when a rather nasty convulsion overcame the teen's body.

Three minutes went by and just as Annie was about to prep for the next stage Hal's body finally stopped moving and he sagged down into the cot, his breathing noticeably slowing down to a more normal rate. Annie checked his pulse and was relieved to find that it had slowed down as well.

Looking up she saw the three Mason's concerned looks and was quick to assure them that Hal's pulse and breathing were returning to normal.

On the floor Scott had come around and was being helped up by Lourdes who helped him walk over to another cot in the room.

-Hal-

Slowly returning to the land of consciousness Hal sluggishly opened his eyes and frowned when he tasted copper, licking his lips he winced when he came across a cut, how did that happen?

His entire body ached and his limbs felt like they were ten pounds heavier, in the background he could hear voices, "what happened?"

Catching their attention Tom and Annie stopped talking and looked down at Hal, "you had a seizure honey" Annie informed him, bending down to meet him eye to eye she grabbed the flashlight,

"I'm going to need you to follow the light with your eyes" turning the light on she shone the light and was pleased to see that Hal hadn't obtained a concussion.

Putting the light down she helped Hal lay back down on his back and adjusted his pillow.

Lourdes finished checking over Scott and besides a headache he was fine, he was more than lucky considering the other more serious injuries he could have gotten, like a heart attack for instance.

Walking to the table Lourdes told Annie her findings then went back over to Scott to give him a couple of aspirin to treat his headache.

While Hal had been out of it Ben had taken Matt down to the cafeteria to get something to eat.

Looking over at Scott Hal felt an immense amount of guilt, he had hurt Uncle Scott and his own father, intentionally or not it didn't matter, because of him two important people in his life had been hurt.

Without meaning to he blurted, "I'm sorry"

-Tom-

Tom heard him and squatted down in front of him, "this wasn't your fault Hal, none of it is, now I know it is going to be difficult but I want you to get rid of all that guilt your feeling because it is not warranted" he didn't let Hal look away from him until he received a reluctant nod from him.

With less quietness from the others Weaver and four other men charged into the room and made their target known. Against Annie's wishes the IV was taken out and two men grabbed Hal off the cot.

"What the hell are you doing Weaver?" Tom demanded, getting right up into Weaver's space.

Not batting an eye he responded, "we're putting Hal in a cell, until we know for sure what that thing around his neck is he's a threat, and from what I've been informed whatever this device is it's already attacked both Scott and yourself" nodding to his men they carried Hal away.

Tom attempted to stop them but Weaver blocked his path, "it's for the best Tom, I know he's your son and you want to pummel me for doing this but deep down you know that this is the right thing to do"

Tom could do nothing as Hal was carried away, probably to the cell that he had just escaped from.

Glaring daggers into his back, he was powerless to stop him as Weaver slid from the room and followed after his men.

He had just gotten his son back and now Weaver had taken him away, to be locked away like a prisoner. He vowed to do whatever it takes to get his son out of there.


	6. Sidewalks

Chapter 6

-Hal-

Hal sighed in boredom, rolling his eyes at the two incompetent guards in front of him. The two, who he had dubbed Phil and Bob had been sending him death glares since he had been jostled awake by Phil's slaps to the head, unnecessary if you asked Hal but his opinion didn't matter. On an even annoying note, he saw that he was also being held captive in a cell.

He was bound to a chair by a long chain and a lock, excessive but effective, they also had their weapons aimed at him for good measure. On a guess he betted that they were waiting for Weaver, so they could start some form of interrogation.

And speak of the devil in walks Weaver, an emotionless mask on and his own sidearm.

"I must say Hal, you got me pretty good, gave me a pretty good black eye and a hell of a headache" Weaver pulled up a chair from the corner of the room and entered the cell with it, sitting down in front of him.

"I would've done a lot more if these two morons hadn't cut in" he felt no remorse or shame for what he had done, Weaver had locked his father up and had his own hand in Hal's capture by the aliens, he may not have thrown him into their clutches but he may as well have.

Chuckling Weaver cocked his head to the side, "gentlemen if you wouldn't mind, I'd like to talk to Hal here, in private" the guards looked ready to object but with one commanding glare they left.

"Well I'm not going to beat around the bush, that thing around your neck, it ain't just an accessory, I want to know what it is" Weaver positioned his weapon on his lap, his fingers tapping along the barrel.

"If I knew, I would tell you, don't think for a second that I voluntarily put this on" Hal hated the way Weaver was looking at him, like he was a lackey for the aliens, a traitor.

Weaver leaned forward, "I don't know that, for all I know they sent you here to spy on us"

Hal's nostrils flared, "if I'm a spy then why did I let Dr. Glass remove my harness?"

The captain was quick to retort, "I don't know, maybe that thing around your neck is some form of tracking device that'll lead them right to us"

He didn't want to admit that the same thought had crossed his mind, he wouldn't give Weaver the satisfaction.

"I ran away from them, I risked my life and Lucas' to get back here to my family, those bastards took me away, the moment I saw my opportunity to escape I took it!" he was rambling now, his emotions of anger and hatred compromising his thoughts.

Rising from the chair Weaver strolled around the cell, "I want to believe that Hal, I really do, but I wouldn't be a very good leader if I allowed my own personal feelings to cloud my judgments"

"They are not controlling me!" he insisted, practically pleading Weaver to believe him.

Weaver made his way back to his chair and sat down, "from the moment you got back you haven't been acting right. All harnessed kids that we've come across have been in a zombie-like state, they don't talk, they're eyes are lifeless and they don't have a mind of their own; while you had your harness on you could still talk and show emotion, pardon me if I find that a little odd"

"I don't know why I was able to retain those abilities, I don't know what this damn thing around my neck is but I do know that I am not under their control" he repeated his earlier statement.

There was a moment of silences between the two before Weaver stood back up and walked to the door, knocking on it and muttering something to the guards when the door opened.

Phil and Bob entered the room, distrustful glares still etched onto their faces. Weaver turned to address Hal, "I'll come back when you're feeling a little more cooperative, in the meantime Aaron and Francis are going to be keeping you company" leaving the room, the guards, now officially named stepped closer to Hal and stood their ground.

A few seconds went by before Hal spoke, "so...anyone want to play cards?"

-Tom-

Tom paced the confines of his sleeping quarters, he had attempted to gain access to the room Hal was being kept in but Aaron and Francis wouldn't budge, telling him that no one was allowed entry without Weaver's permission. He had almost attacked them but just barely managed to rein himself in and instead sent them a searing glare and stalked off.

What was he going to do? He could try busting Hal out but then what? Where would they go? The mass. was currently the safest place he knew of, except when it came to Hal's predicament.

Growling in aggravation he collapsed onto his cot and, closing his eyes, rubbed his throbbing temple, he could feel a headache coming on.

Dropping his hands he stared up at the ceiling, the dots on the tiles coming together to form abstract pictures.

Releasing a long breath he came to a decision, laying around doing nothing was certainly not to going to help his son so he got up and walked out of the room, headed for the room where Scott liked to take up residence.

Finding the man leaning over a table Tom knocked the side of the door panel and gave a half smile to Scott when he looked over at him, "Tom, how are you doing?"

Tom knew he was alluding to what had happened to Hal but didn't call him on it, "as well as I can be, considering. I just thought I'd come by and see if you had gotten anywhere with that device"

"Unfortunately no, without having the device in front of me I am unable to come up with more concrete answers but I have been going over a few of the things that I do know, for instance, I noticed that the device has no visible seam on it, indicating that there is another way that it can be removed and secondly that the surge of electricity that you and I experienced was a form of security to prevent further inspection" Scott removed his glasses and wiped a smudge off with the edge of his shirt.

This wasn't what Tom wanted to hear, he hadn't expected Scott to miraculously having a solution this quickly but he was hoping for more answers than he had gotten.

"There has to be something you can do Scott, I don't want that thing on my son for much longer" Tom was desperate, he needed a solution now.

Scott looked at the distressed father before him and felt a wave of sympathy towards the man, his family had been through so much and Scott was afraid that at some point the family wasn't going to be able to recover.

"I can only imagine the pain you must be feeling but I can assure that I am doing everything in my power to help Hal" his hand had found its way onto Tom's shoulder, hoping to give the man some comfort.

Tom took in a shaky breath and nodded, he trusted Scott, he knew that the man would do everything he could to help his son he was just an emotional wreck right now.

"I know you will Scott, I just can't stand not doing anything that could help Hal" leaning against the desk Tom grasped the front edge of the desk they were standing in front of, trying to calm himself down.

The two were startled when a soccer ball bounced off the window but quickly recovered, "I'm going to go find Ben and Matt, keep me updated?" Tom asked as Scott walked beside him to the door.

Scott nodded, "of course, the moment I find anything out you'll be the first to know" patting Tom on the back Tom walked out of the room and down the hallway.

Following the sound of laughing children Tom stepped outside and couldn't help the smile that appeared when he saw Matt playing soccer with a group of other kids. Looking around he saw that Ben was standing on the sidelines, cheering his little brother on.

Walking over to his middle child he stood beside him and watched his youngest play, happy at the normal activity that he was witnessing.

"How's Hal?" Ben asked, his gaze still on the game at hand.

Tom briefly hesitated before answering, "he's doing a lot better, still pretty weak but Anne's confident he'll be up and about in a day or two"

Ben didn't buy his dad diversion, "what aren't you telling me dad? I want the whole truth, I'll find out sooner or later so you might as well tell me now"

He should have known that he couldn't keep this from him, but it was worth a try, "Weaver took him, no one besides Weaver himself and a few other select few are allowed in"

"Then we'd better find a way onto that list" Ben moved to walk past him but Tom blocked his path.

"I want to get him out too but we have to be smart about this, just give me some time to come up with a plan and then I promise you we will get your brother" he knew that Ben could easily push him aside and go forward with his own plan but he was hoping that he would do as he asked and trusted him.

Ben looked to be having a moment of thought before reluctantly going back to his original position.

He only hoped that Hal would be okay until then.


	7. A Silent Murder

Chapter 7

-Hal-

He didn't know how long he had been in here, all he knew was that he was beginning to lose feeling in his arms and his right leg had fallen asleep, so he had to have been here for a while.

There was a knock on the door and the guards shared a look before one of them walked over to the door and pulled it open to reveal Anne carrying a tray with food and a cup of water.

"Weaver said not to let anyone in here Doc, your gonna have to leave" the guard tried shutting the door but Anne blocked it with her foot.

"I don't care what Weaver told you, Hal just had his harness removed and I'm betting that he is hungry since he more than likely hasn't had anything to eat in the past few days; he'll be of no use to you if he passes out from hunger, now let me in" she stared the guard down until finally he caved and opened the door.

Not bothering with a thank you she entered the cell, nudging the second guard aside and placed the tray down before kneeling down in front of Hal.

"Hey Dr. Glass, so kind of you to join the party! These two here are real party poopers" he threw a condescending look at the guards, his smirk widening when he saw the annoyance in their eyes.

-Anne-

Anne looked at the teen before her and couldn't help the guilt that clouded her, she wished that she could grab him and get him out of here but there were too many obstacles in her path that would be her downfall. Maybe if she came back later tonight with some of Scott's tools she could-

"Don't" she was brought out of her thoughts by Hal's voice, she was puzzled by his words.

"Don't do what sweetie?" she asked, placing her hand on his leg.

He shook his head with a sad smile, " think about ways of getting me out of here, it's too dangerous and I would never forgive myself if something happened to you. Your way too valuable, you can't do much good if your locked up in a cell"

"You don't deserve to be locked up Hal, not like some prisoner" she insisted, rising to her feet.

By now the guards were standing outside the cell, watching the interaction between the doctor and the eldest Mason boy.

"Maybe Weaver was right to put me in here" he interrupted, catching her gaze.

Anne walked back so that she was towering above him, "you don't mean that" though looking in the teen's eyes her stand was wavering.

"We don't know what they did to me, for all we know the aliens are tracking me and are sending an army of them here to wipe us all out! There are so many possibilities swimming through my head that it feels like my skull is going to explode!" his voice had risen in level and fiery flares of untamable emotion swirled in his eyes.

She didn't want to think about that, but her mind betrayed her and conjured up images of the skitters and mechs. coming and killing everyone. Like Hal had said, they didn't know what the aliens had done to him, but she didn't want to accept this as Hal's fate, a prisoner of war.

"Not everyone can be saved, you might have to let me go"

She didn't meet his sympathetic gaze as she turned her back on him, trying to get her emotions under control but failing miserably, how could she when Hal had basically told her to abandon him all together?

Finding strength she turned back around to face him, "I would never forgive myself if I didn't at least try to save you Hal, I made a promise to Tom long ago that I would protect yourself and your brothers, and in no way do I plan on breaking my promise" with a new purpose she bent down and picked the cup of water up then presented it to Hal.

"Don't even have to ask to know that you must be thirsty" she raised her eyebrows and gave him the 'don't try telling me otherwise' look.

Nodding his head she set the rim of the cup at his lips and helped him drink, taking the cup away when he had had his fill.

"I also have a bowl of oatmeal, if you want any?" without waiting for an answer she set the now empty cup down and picked up the bowl with the spoon cradled inside by the oatmeal.

Picking up the spoon she brought the utensil to his mouth and waited until Hal opened his mouth to go any further.

-Hal-

Hal hated this, he felt so humiliated at being spoon fed, he wished he could find the will to tell her to stop but his hunger outweighed his humility.

When the bowl was empty Anne placed the dishes back onto the tray and picked the tray up. Before she left she spoke, "don't give up hope Hal, we'll get you out of here as soon as we can"

Looking back to the guards she nodded her head and the door to the room was opened and she left.

He was once again alone with the ever vigilant Aaron and Francis, he had yet to find out which was which but that was the least of his worries, his biggest worry was what Weaver planned to do with him? Was he planning on leaving him in here until he confessed that he was working with the aliens or would he execute him? He didn't have much hope that Weaver would believe him when he said that he wasn't being controlled by them but he was hoping that his inkling was wrong.

The thought of being executed disturbed him and strangled him with fear, he didn't want to believe that Weaver would do such a thing, he liked to think that before he had been taken they had had somewhat of a good relationship, but war did strange things to people and it was no secret that Weaver would do whatever he had to, to insure the Mass.' safety.

-Tom-

Tom strode down the hallway with an unwavering goal in his mind, find Weaver and demand him to let him see his son. He knew that it would take every bit of restraint he had not to beat the man near death but he was willing to risk anything to see his son again.

He was so intent with his thoughts that he almost went right past the man himself who was in Scott's room talking with him.

Entering the room Tom stalked over to the captain and grabbed him by the shirt, ramming his back into the wall.

Scott stared on in shock over what was happening in front of him, he didn't know what to do, help Weaver or stand by and let Tom do whatever he was going to do?

"Your guards aren't here to help you Weaver, it's just you, me and Scott, now I want you to let me see my son and I might not add to that shiner you've got already" the crazed look in his eyes added to his seriousness and his lips were quivering with unspoken words.

-Weaver-

Weaver didn't bother trying to escape Tom's hold, he knew better than to try because it would only aggravate Tom further. He was just going to ride this out.

"I can't do that Tom, you're emotions are messing with your rationality. Don't try and tell me that you haven't considered the possibility that Hal isn't just as harnessed as he was before" by the slight wavering in Tom's eyes he had his answer.

-Tom-

In a fit of rage Tom slammed Weaver against the wall, causing Weaver to let a slight grunt of pain out, "don't you try and tell me what the hell I'm thinking, he's my son damnit! I just got him back and you've taken him away from me again all because you think that he's still connected with them!"

"That thing around your boy's neck is alien, nothing good ever comes from them, whatever that thing is it was put on him for a reason and I intend to find out what that purpose is" he looked over at Scott at the end and Tom followed his gaze, his grip maintaining their hold.

A feeling of betrayal went through Tom, Scott had promised him that he would come to him first with any new information.

"What did you tell him Scott? huh? You promised that you would come to me first" by this point all rationality had abandoned him, he was now operating on pure paternal instincts to keep anyone from hurting his son.

Scott raised his hands in a placating gesture, "I haven't told him anything that you don't already know, I promised you that you would be the first person I spoke to and I have kept my word. Now please, put Weaver down, I can only begin to understand what you must be feeling but you'll be no good to Hal if your locked up in a cell again"

Every instinct was telling Tom not to listen, that he needed to continue until he got what he wanted but rationality finally made a return and reminded him that Scott was right, being back in a cell would give him no chance at all at helping Hal. Looking back at Weaver he pulled him closer until the tips of their noses almost touched.

"I'll let you down and give you my word that I won't attack you again, but only if you take me to see my son" inwardly he crossed his fingers, no way in hell would he keep that promise, he would do whatever he had to, to protect his sons.

He got the feeling by studying Weaver's expression that he didn't believe him but he nodded his head in agreement, "all right, you have yourself a deal but that don't mean that I won't be watching my back"

"You wouldn't be you otherwise" setting the captain down he released his hold and took a small step back.

Fixing his hat Weaver spoke, "follow me" brushing past the professor he made his way for the door, Tom trailing closely behind him, just in case Weaver was planning anything.

-Hal-

Hal was roused from his thoughts by the creaking of the door, looking up he was at first disappointed to see that it was only Weaver but his spirits were lifted when he saw that his father was right behind him.

"Dad!"

His father dashed over to him, almost knocking over Weaver in the process, and came to a halt in front of him.

-Tom-

He was furious at what Weaver had done, Hal was bound down by chains and reduced to sitting a cell like some freak on display!

Reigning his anger he leaned down and lightly wrapped his arms around the upper part of Hal's body, cupping the back of his head.

"I'm working on a way on getting you out of here Hal, just be strong until then" he whispered, not wanting Weaver and his guards to overhear.

The hug lasted for about a minute before Tom relinquished his hold and stepped back.

"Okay you've seen him, now it's time to leave" Weaver walked up to Tom and placed his hand on his shoulder.

Tom wanted to refuse, he didn't want to leave his son in here, especially not with the way he was being treated, but he had to or else he would risk Weaver putting him back in a cell, and he couldn't have that.

Taking one last look at his son, his heart aching at the hopeless look his son wore, he turned his back and allowed Weaver to lead him from the room.


	8. Just Close Your Eyes

**A/N: May be unnecessary but Warning this chapter is very dark in places, especially in description and language but mainly in the beginning. You have been warned. **

-Hal-

A while had gone by since he had seen his father and his eyes were starting to get heavy. He managed to beat the pull for a little while but eventually he was pulled under into a blood curdling nightmare.

_The hallway he walked down looked hauntingly like the hallways in the school, only there were long streaks of blood streaking the walls and floors and there were dead bodies of unfortunate people who hadn't escaped the ravaging._

_It was eerily quiet, the only sound being his breathing and the padding of his shoes echoing off the walls. _

_Coming across the infirmary Hal stopped in horror when he saw a long streak of blood leading into the room, praying that he wouldn't find someone he cared for he entered the room and almost puked when he saw the sight before him._

_Laying in her own pool of blood was Anne, the lower part of her body was almost completely torn apart, her insides strewn out and her eyes stared lifelessly up at the ceiling, never again to look at her patients in that loving way._

_Stumbling out of the room and barely managing to keep his stomach contents in he forced himself to keep moving forward, needing to find his family. _

_The next room he came across was bless fully devoid of any human remains but the smell of death still hung in the air, making his gut churn with foreboding. Walking deeper into the room he guessed that at some point this was the faculty room._

_Hearing a faint rustling coming from behind him he paused and slowly turned around, prepared to fight, but he didn't find anyone or anything waiting to lunge. Thinking that he may just be hearing things he made to continue searching the room but when he heard the rustling again he was determined to find the source. _

_Following the sound he arrived at the closet, taking a breath he braced himself and whipped the door open his eyes widened at what or rather who he found._

_Himself._

_Drenched in blood and smiling darkly at him the doppelganger rose from its crouched position over something and once Hal saw what it was he did lose the contents of his stomach; in the back of the closet was his little brother Matt, blood was gushing out of his little body in a fury and his skin was turning a chilling white._

_The doppelganger laughed at his display and swiftly grabbed Hal by the throat, forcing him to turn around and look at his dead brother._

_"Look what we did Hal, look at that craftsmanship! I'll tell you he just wouldn't shut up! He kept screaming for his daddy all the while begging us to stop!" the doppelganger gloated, practically gushing with pride over the sickening act it had performed._

_Hal tried to look away, not wanting to look at the scene before him but the doppelganger wouldn't have that, it wanted Hal to look at what it was calling it's 'masterpiece'._

_"Why?...why did you do this?" his voice was barely a whisper, quivering with grief._

_Another laugh bubbled up from its throat, making him flinch at the complete lack of any human empathy._

_"Because that is why we're here, to kill every last one of these pathetic, lower beings!" it hissed, smiling down at its work._

_He couldn't move, he wanted to tear this thing apart, make it experience as much or maybe even more pain than the amount his its victims had felt, but his body wouldn't listen._

_"I'm not a monster like you" he gritted out, managing to find some bravery left._

_It chuckled, "no? Because I gotta say I know what's floating around in that head of yours and it's no candy land! C'mon I'm a part of you, I am the way I am because somewhere inside of you is a monster, one that our alien friends juiced up just for you" it patted his cheek with its bloody hand and Hal flinched at the touch, disgusted at the feel of the slick blood on his face._

_"Admit it Hal, somewhere inside you is a hatred for these humans and all we have to do is get our hands a little bloody and that itch will go away" it whispered the last part in his ear and that was what broke the camel's back, roaring in rage he grabbed it by the shirt collar and rammed it up against the wall._

_With his free hand he rained down on its laughing face with punches but no matter how many times he punched or kicked it that cold, uncaring smile remained on its face. _

_"You can't kill me Hal, I'm you! And sooner or later you're going to have to accept that"_

_The building began to quake and the sound of the mechs. ominous call stopped his movements._

_The aliens were here._

Gasping awake Hal tried to move but felt himself being restrained.

Where was he? What happened to the doppelganger?

He almost screamed when he saw two armed men suddenly standing in front of him, alarm in their eyes but their fingers resting comfortably on the triggers.

His memory slowly started coming back and he calmed down, only slightly though, after all he was still in trouble.

When the guards saw that he wasn't going to try anything they calmed down a little as well but they were on guard duty so that they to keep a close eye on him.

He had left one extremely sickening hell only to be put back into another one that was a little more than slightly less disturbing.

What the doppelganger had said still ran around in his mind, somewhere inside of him was a monster, he could feel its pull from inside and he was horrified at the thought of that monster getting free.

-Tom-

Tom was in the infirmary with Anne, getting his stitches checked out after he had had a little disagreement about his son with another 2nd Mass. soldier.

"Well luckily none of your stitches were pulled out but you have given yourself split knuckles" Anne reached across the table and plucked a bottle of isopropyl rubbing alcohol and dabbed some on a cloth before applying it to the cuts.

He flinched at the stinging sensation but he managed to keep still until the cuts were clean to her satisfaction and she dressed the cuts.

"Thanks Anne" hopping off the table he scratched the back of his neck with his uninjured hand.

Anne cleaned up and put the supplies away, waiting until the area was clean before turning around.

"I don't agree with what he said either but you can't just go around attacking anyone who says things like that, you'll only end up back in a cell" she knew that this was a touchy subject for Tom, anything that involved the safety of his sons did, but she needed to make sure that Tom would be around long enough to continue protecting them.

Tom shook his head, "I know that Anne, but people are talking about Hal as if he's one of them! Like he should be killed just because he had been taken by them! They're still looking at Ben like he's going to crack any minute and kill them all, I'd say my protection of them has been pretty crappy as of late!" pacing around the room he continued to fight with his inner demons.

Walking over to him Anne tried to comfort him but he pulled away from her, not wanting her pity right now.

"You are a great father Tom, those boys are alive because you taught them how to survive, you encourage them to fight for what they believe in and half the people in this camp are alive because of you. You're not a failure Tom, so don't give up on yourself just yet because we still need you" when she saw that Tom had stopped pacing she walked up to him and placed her hand on his shoulder, when he didn't resist her touch she pulled him into a hug, sensing that he needed one.

Clutching onto her Tom allowed himself to cry, something that he rarely ever did in front of anyone but he trusted her and maybe even loved her. With that in mind he made the next move.

Pulling away from her he tilted his head and brought his lips down to hers, as soon as their lips made contact it felt like stars were exploding behind their eyes. Deepening the kiss he cupped the back of her head and wrapped his other arm around her waist.

Once Anne wrapped her arms around his neck the hand cupping her neck traveled down to join the other one and lifted Anne up off the ground, moaning when her lips moved and started planting hot open mouth kisses along his neck.

Setting her down on the counter Tom allowed his hands to wander along her body, Anne's were traveling as well, Tom groaned when he felt her hands crawl under his shirt and massage his abdominal muscles.

Their activities were halted though by a rather uncomfortable coughing noise from the doorway.

Reluctantly pulling apart, they both looked and saw that it was Lourdes, her eyes purposefully not meeting theirs and her face was turning red.

Moving aside Tom helped her off the counter and watched Anne interact with the young woman, "what is it Lourdes?"

Still not making eye contact she spoke, "the scouting troop just got back and a few of them were injured, they're being brought in now"

Nodding she turned to Tom, without being told he made his way for the door "I'll see you later"

Leaving the room he decided to go back to his family's quarters and continue planning his son's rescue.

**A/N: I hope you liked the quick update, I cannot promise that the next chapter will be as quick but I will promise a major turn of events in the next chapter. Please Review!**


	9. Choose Your Fate

-Hal-

He was afraid to close his eyes for fear that he would be transported back to that nightmarish world, he was glad there was nothing reflective around him, seeing his reflection would only remind him of his demented doppelganger.

Weaver had come and gone, his methods having not changed since their last encounter. What he wanted was simple, he wanted information, information that Hal couldn't give him. No matter how many times he had insisted that he had no clue what the aliens were planning or what the device around his neck was Weaver still believed that he was lying, and he was beyond angry that he was being treated this way!

But the captain wasn't the only visitor he had today, currently uncle Scott was standing before him, his hands digging around in his tool box.

Aaron and Francis were on either side of Hal, their weapons drawn, fingers quivering over the trigger.

Finding what he was looking for, which appeared to be a familiar pair of tweezers he approached Hal and he was also sporting a pair of rubber gloves.

Remembering how this had gone down last time Hal began to struggle, "don't you remember what happened the last time you used those tweezers? You were almost electrocuted and I had a brain rattling seizure!"

The guards gripped him firmly by the shoulders, preventing him from moving around too much, "yes I remember Hal but I need to figure out what this device is and if risking another round of whatever occurred is a possibility I'm willing to face that" placing his hand on Hal's upper sternum for support he carefully entered round two.

-Scott-

With the light hanging above them he was able to see the familiar flashing lights on the inside of the collar and with bated breath felt around the edge until he once again came in contact with the familiar rough area; saying a silent prayer he latched onto it and he could feel the electricity hum beneath his fingertips but luckily the rubber gloves prevented the shock from being too strong.

Adding more force the area started to give and was soon followed by a low hissing sound, what came next was something they never saw coming.

-Hal-

Screams of terror were heard from outside along with the unmistakable sound of mechs. and skitters.

The guards didn't know what to do, stay in the room with the potential alien spy or go outside and help their people, but their decision was soon made for them when the back wall of the room was destroyed and a mech. entered the room.

Aaron and Francis opened fire on it but they were taken down in one shot by the alien, luckily missing Scott who was standing in front of Hal, trying to protect him.

"Scott get out of here! There's no point in trying to protect me, the mass. needs you!" Hal tried to reason with the older man, his life was more important than his, he needed to keep on fighting!

The mech. raised its weapon, zeroing in on Scott but just as it was preparing to fire Tom entered the scene and pulled Scott and Hal out of the way just in time. Of course Hal was still bound to the chair and was now on his side, still not able to do anything to help.

More gunfire resonated in the room but even over that with his heightened sense of hearing he was able to hear a pair of human feet approaching, and he didn't know how but he knew for a fact that this was definitely not a friend.

Seeing a familiar pair of worn out black boots Hal followed the legs up and met the smirking face of Karen, or what was inhabiting her body.

"Your vacation's over Hal, time to come back home" reaching down she lifted the chair back on its legs then with alien strength managed to rip the chains off him. Since Hal was unable to do that himself he assumed that the longer the harness was on the stronger the individual became or the aliens had juiced her up a little more.

Rising Hal looked down at Karen, bewildered as to why she hadn't killed him yet?

"Were you tracking me? Is that why you let me go? So that you could find the 2nd Mass?" was that what the device was for? some type of alien tracking device?

She didn't answer him, instead smiling darkly.

"Something like that" she finally answered, not fazed when a blast from an alien weapon almost took her head off.

Hal looked around at the war that was going on around them, he could hear people screaming and shouting orders, gunfire and explosions. It was like the alien's first arrival all over again only this time they had a little better understanding of the enemy.

-Tom-

Tom was too busy fending off aliens that it wasn't until he was forced to jump for cover from a blast that he noticed Hal was free and was staring down Karen.

Trying to get to his feet he cursed and collapsed again at the fiery pain that was coursing through his leg, looking down he saw that a chunk of metal was sticking out of his thigh and bleeding profusely. Looking back at his son he began to crawl, while calling out Hal's name, praying that he could hear him.

His calls must have gotten Hal's attention because he looked right at him and his eyes widened in alarm at the sight of his injury. He tried to go towards him but Karen grabbed his arm, pulling him back. Tom watched as she whispered something to him that made his eyes widen in a myriad of emotions that he couldn't identify but one that he could was fear, looking back at her as if to confirm she simply smiled in return.

A cold feeling ran through Tom's body, intuition telling him that whatever happened next was going to be unacceptable and heart breaking.

-Hal-

"Come back with us and I'll allow whatever humans managed to keep their hearts beating live a little bit longer or I can force you to watch as we kill every last one of them, starting with your father" she whispered, a threat that he knew the aliens could and would accomplish if he didn't do as she said.

He didn't have to think long at all to know what his decision was, and the aliens knew that he would do as they ordered, especially when they threatened human lives.

"All right, I'll go with you, just do as you promised and let the remaining humans live" his fate was sealed the moment he felt her hand squeeze his shoulder and move down to clutch his hand.

Tugging him forward he allowed her to lead him towards the hole in the wall. He could hear his father shouting for him but there was nothing he could do, he was doing this to protect him, to protect the 2nd Mass.

He could feel the buzz in the air as the thing controlling Karen's body communicated with the rest of the aliens and they all simultaneously ceased fire, stunning the humans around them.

A few fighters fired off a few more rounds but still the aliens did not return fire.

As one the aliens marched away from the now destroyed school, leaving behind a mass of destruction and death.

Karen kept a firm grip on Hal as they walked away, He couldn't bear to look around at the destruction, this was because of him, he had led the aliens right to them.

Weaver was right, he was a spy, though unknowingly he still felt shame.

-Tom-

Once again he was forced to watch his son be taken away from him, only this time it was on Hal's own will, certainly not by free will, whatever Karen had said to him it had shaken Hal up and was bad enough that he had agreed to go with them.

Not concerned about his injury he pulled himself up from the ground, cursing and grunting in pain but he managed to keep himself upright as he limped closer to the hole, only able to watch his son get further and further away from him and there was nothing he could do.

The aliens had managed to take his son again, he had been right there and he was still unable to save him, he was a failure as a hero and an even bigger failure at being a father.

His story was becoming grimmer and grimmer with each page, he only hoped that the ending would bring light to his dark world.


	10. Dive Right In

**A/N: Disclaimer do not own Falling Skies, though I wish I did, also I just watched the season 2 finale, which was epic by the way! and I can't wait to see what happens with Hal, also no idea I was so close on the idea of evil Hal, total coincidence I swear!**

-Hal-

After a few miles of walking they arrived at one of the aliens' many outposts, this one was stationed inside an abandoned factory.

Being pushed forward Hal followed the group to the entrance and was met by a large group of harnessed kids, skitters and mechs., all staring intently at him. They parted like the red sea as the group Hal was in walked by them, at the end of the sea he could see a skinny waiting for them.

Coming to a halt in front of it when the skinny raised its hand Hal found himself dropping to his knees, looking up at the alien Hal watched as it made contact with the device around his neck and he could feel the power surging through his body, all going up to center around the device.

Bright flashes of light collided in his vision and his breathing became heavier, his heart beating frantically against his chest. The flashes of light soon turned into flashing images, images of Hal's recent time at the mass; he realized what it was doing, they were downloading his memories!

He tried to stop the transfer but there was nothing he could do. When the memory of his doppelganger came up and the image of his dead little brother he could feel tears beginning to trail down his cheeks.

When the transfer was done Hal gasped and collapsed to his side, tears continuing to fall from his eyes and his body shivering.

The feeling of someone stroking his hair startled Hal and he turned his head to see Karen, if he didn't know that she was being controlled he would have welcomed the comfort but this wasn't Karen. Pulling away from the touch, wiping his eyes and getting his shaking under control he stood up, making sure to put some space between them.

A loud click sounded and Hal was stunned when the device fell from his neck, still in shock Hal felt his neck, relief flooded through him at the feeling of his skin.

"You've done well Hal, the information you've given us well help us immensely" Karen stepped closer to Hal but he stepped back, not wanting it anywhere near him.

Hal looked around and saw that the harnessed kids were still watching him and the other aliens were frozen in place, awaiting their orders Hal assumed.

"I was a spy, that's why you let me go" looking back at Karen he saw that she had picked the device up and was running her fingers over the metal.

"The best kind of spy is one that isn't even aware they are one" handing the device over to another harnessed kid, Hal watched as the kid walked into the factory.

"What are you going to do to me?" he knew that there two ways this could go, they would either kill him or put him back under their control, or whatever control he had been under before.

He stood in place as Karen walked up to him, eyeing him up and down "we still have use for you" she stepped to the side as he was pushed from behind by a harnessed teen.

Knowing that resisting was futile he allowed them to lead him into the factory. Entering the building Hal was met by a larger group of skitters who were standing around a metal table.

Shoved forward Hal stumbled to a stop in front of the group and yelled when he was grabbed from behind and slammed chest first onto the table, he cried out in pain.

The anticipation of what they were going to do him made his skin over sensitive and his heart to hammer against his chest. He was startled when he could feel and hear his shirt being torn off, revealing his back and spikes more clearly.

"We have been working on a new 'harness' as you humans like to call it, one that is unseen unless you know where to look" Karen spoke as she ran her fingers along his back, occasionally brushing against one of his spikes making him flinch at the odd sensation it evoked.

He could hear her pick something up and he jumped when he felt something cold being pressed against the back of his neck.

"You're going to be our guinea pig, and since the harness didn't work as well as we had hoped on you we're hoping that this will correct that" a clinking sound reached his ears and he was unprepared for what happened next.

Screaming in pain he could feel her digging into the back of his neck with a sharp instrument, maybe a scalpel, the blood seeping out as she worked and running around the corners of his neck and back to make a necklace of blood around his neck.

Apparently having dug deep enough he heard the clattering of the instrument and was granted a brief moment of relief but that sanctuary was broken when her devilish hands returned and he could feel her digging into his neck again but this time was different, there was no more cutting but she was definitely putting something in his neck.

The moment whatever she was putting in made contact with the top of his spine a strong surge of electricity shot through him, surging his body upwards in shock.

As his body was traumatized by whatever she had done he felt something in his mind shut down, and with that feeling came the feeling of floating and darkness began to creep in on him.

It was like he was being put away in a cell inside his own mind, he was trapped, nothing but darkness around him and the only sound was that of his breathing, was this what it was like for the other harnessed kids or was his imprisonment more advanced than their own?

Suddenly a dark laughter invaded the darkness and he had a flashback to his dark nightmare, it was the doppelganger's laugh.

Oh god, since he was trapped inside his mind did that mean that the doppelganger had control?

As if answering his question another dark chuckle invaded the silence, the doppelganger was now in control of his body and that meant that not only were the people he cared for in danger but all the surviving humans, this monster would kill them without mercy!

-Doppelganger-

Finally it was free of that imprisonment, no longer would it have to stand by and watch that pathetic human protect those disgusting humans, now it would be able to hunt them down like the animals they were and revel in their bloody demise.

Hopping off the table it looked around at its surroundings and smiled in glee at its company, it was finally with a group that had the same goal as him, to wipe out the humans.

-Tom-

Limping through the wreckage Tom searched for his sons, he was beyond terrified that they had taken his remaining sons but his fears were thankfully dissipated when he saw his two boys helping an older woman up from the ground.

"Ben! Matt!" alerting their attention Tom limped as fast as he could to them and gathered them in his arms, taking mind not to knock over the woman they had just helped.

With two of his boys in his arms he allowed himself to feel some relief, though one of his sons may be gone he still had two and he was going to do whatever he had to, to not only protect them but to get his eldest back as well.

Releasing them from his consuming hug he looked down at his boys, mentally checking them over for any injuries and was pleased to see that besides a few scrapes and cuts they were fine.

Then Matt asked a question that threatened to tear Tom's heart out, "dad, where's Hal?"

Tom's breath caught in his throat and as a result he was forced into a coughing fit, feeling a firm patting on his back, probably from Ben, he was able to ride the fit out until he was released from its clutches and forced to answer Matt's seemingly innocent question.

Looking at his boys he could see the fear in them, Matt's eyes had always been very expressive, they were like a mirror into his emotions and Ben always showed his emotions by the way he stood and right now Ben looked saddened and fearful, Tom had a feeling that he already knew the news that Tom was about to tell them.

Kneeling down in front of his youngest he resigned himself to what was to come, "Matt, Hal...isn't here anymore, the aliens...they took him back and I don't know when we'll be seeing him again"

For one long moment the world was silent as the young boy absorbed the information his dad had told him.

The world came alive again and Matt viciously shook his head, not wanting or willing to believe that his big brother was gone again.

Tom tried to calm his youngest down but Matt wasn't having it, before Tom could stop him he took off, running off in the opposite direction. Tom went to go after him but was stopped by a firm hand from Ben.

"I'll go after him dad, your too injured, Dr. Glass is over patching up survivors, you should go see her" with a gentle push towards the area where Dr. Glass had set up shop Ben then hurried after his little brother, hoping that he hadn't managed to get himself into trouble in the short amount of time he was left alone.

After watching his middle child run off Tom resigned himself to doing as Ben had suggested and limped over to Dr. Glass. He was more than relieved that she was okay, much like Ben and Matt she had sustained a few minor injuries but she was still in one piece and standing on her own two feet.

He caught her attention when he was a few steps away from her, she was finishing patching up a little girl's cut hands while her father stood beside her, gently comforting his daughter as she was treated.

Once the job was done the man took his daughter and walked away. With her attention now on Tom she walked over to him and engulfed him in a hug.

Tom winced when she aggravated his injuries, she had noticed the flinch and pulled back.

"Come over here and sit down, I need to take a look at that leg of yours" sitting down on a pile of rubble he watched as she picked up a raggedy old gym bag.

Lugging the bag over she dug into its contents and picked out the needed tools.

"I had to grab what I could when the building started to collapse, Lourdes and I each grabbed a bag and started filling them, we don't know half the supplies we put in them but we're hopeful that some of the supplies and medicine survived the attack" she explained as got to work on cleaning and patching his minor injuries first then moving down to his leg.

Looking around for Lourdes Tom found her kneeling down in front of a man who looked to have been burned by a fire that had started during the explosion.

"They took him back Anne, they took him right in front of me and there wasn't a damn thing I could do" Tom suddenly said, his guilt eating him up.

Anne stopped and looked up at him, sympathy but also determination in her eyes.

"We'll get him back Tom, he came back to us once and he'll come back again, but right now you need to focus on taking care of your two sons who are here, they need their father more than anything right now" she went back to work and Tom digested her words.

She was right, which wasn't a shock because she always managed to put Tom in his place, he needed to take care of Ben and Matt, and by helping them he was also helping himself; by helping his two remaining sons he was coaxing his own mind that he wasn't a complete failure, he still had two sons that needed him and it was only a matter of time, of that he would make sure of, until all three of his sons were back with him.

**A/N: Hey guys, listen you really need to start reviewing because I'm a little nervous that no one cares if I do or not so please, please review! It really helps assure me.**


	11. The Dream Is Over

**A/N: Thank you so much for all the encouragement and positive reviews I got in the last chapter and all the reviews period, they have really inspired me to do the best I can writing this story and I hope you continue to like reading it as much as I enjoy writing it. **

-Hal-

Hal had been wandering around the contours of his mind, intrigued by what he discovered, after having been imprisoned Hal was almost pleasantly surprised to find that there was in fact light in the darkness, light that came from floating orbs that danced around him.

It was like a scene from a movie, the lights from the orbs glistened against his skin, filling him with a warmth that spoke of love and safety. Walking up to an orb he looked down into it and discovered that the orbs contained memories, his memories!

The memory he gazed into now was that of the day before the invasion, when the biggest worry Hal had was winning his next lacrosse game, his mother was still alive and his family was happy. He watched as himself laughed at something his mother had said, he was saddened that he couldn't remember what she had said but just seeing her face again made tears appear in his eyes.

He was sickened with himself when the he had a moment's thought of her being lucky, she had died long before all the terrors his family and him had faced, but it was wrong to be spiteful of the dead, he knew that if she were still alive she would have been fighting right alongside them.

Another memory appeared in the orb and at this one he had to turn away, this was one of the memories that he never wanted to revisit, the day his mother had died. He could remember the day clearly,

_she had gone out to look for food, when she hadn't returned for several hours his dad had left him in charge of Matt, ordering him to take care of him while he was gone._

_He had done as ordered but not before pleading with him to let him go with him, it was much safer to have backup, but his dad had insisted and in the end Hal had given in, the longer they spent fighting the longer his mom was out there._

_Only a few minutes had passed by when Hal heard the unmistakable shout of his father, it was anguished and filled with rage. Without thinking Hal ordered Matt to stay put and out of sight before sprinting from the small camp that him and his father had helped built and sped towards the continued shouting of his father. _

_When he came within view he wanted to turn his back and forget the image he was met with; his father was kneeling on the grass in the middle of what used to be the park, in his arms, was his mother, there was a gaping hole in her chest and her body was turning white. His dad cradled her body in his arms, sobbing and cursing the aliens that had taken her from him._

_Stepping closer he startled his father who had not noticed his presence during his grieving and Hal jumped back, raising his hands in a placating gesture when he was met with the end of his father's gun. Upon seeing that it was his eldest he lowered his gun and looked back down at his dead wife._

_Cautiously approaching Hal knelt down in front of him, his eyes running over the body of his mother, tears pooled from his eyes at the mess the aliens had made of her. They would pay for destroying his family._

_"What are you doing here? Where's Matt?" his voice was surprisingly calm and low as he ran his fingers over his mother's cheek, mourning his lost love._

_"He's back at camp, I made sure that he was well hidden before coming after you" he knew that he had made a stupid mistake, Matt was only a child and their world was being invaded by aliens, he was an easy target._

_Looking regretfully at his mom his father gently laid her down on the ground, standing up he looked down at his deceased wife, Hal knew that the mourning they both were feeling were different but yet very alike at the same time; his father had lost his best friend, lover and the mother of his children and Hal had lost the woman who had given birth to him, a confident and best friend._

_With one last look at her Tom stepped around her and led Hal back the way they had come, needing to get back to Matt and make sure that he was okay. They both agreed that they would have to tell Matt, it was cruel to lie to him and it was better that they tell him now than have him find out later and hate them for lying to him._

At this point the memory continued but Hal found the strength to walk away, he didn't want to remember anymore of one of the worst days of his life.

Walking deeper into his mind he found that more orbs decorated the area, looking up he saw that they floated for miles above him, each one playing a memory in no specific order.

He didn't know where he was going, all he knew was that he had to keep moving.

-Tom-

The school was completely destroyed, rubble and bodies scattered the area the school once stood. They would have to find a new camp which meant that they would have to pack up what they could salvage and move, quickly before the aliens came back to finish the job.

His leg still hurt like hell but he bit down the pain and concentrated on helping others load up what they could in the few surviving cars they had left then move on to the next pile. He made sure to keep an eye on Ben and Matt who were over with another group helping load another vehicle with medical supplies.

Weaver was standing beside him, lugging a large bag of supplies up to the person in the truck bed when he turned to Tom and clamped him on the shoulder.

"Tom, need to have a talk with you" Tom looked over at him and handed off his box to the guy behind him and followed Weaver over to a secluded area.

Once alone Weaver began to speak, "we need to move these people to an area where we have better advantage over those aliens. I was talking to Anthony and he says that he knows of an abandoned airfield that is ten miles north of here. There could be supplies there that we could use and maybe even a plane that works"

Tom was a little confused on why he needed to say that to him in private, he knew that since he was second in command Weaver had to tell him things like this but he didn't understand the secrecy.

"I agree but I don't understand why you needed to tell me that in private?" he knew that there had to be more to this than Weaver was telling him.

By the look in Weaver's eyes Tom knew that he wasn't going to like the second part.

"In order to insure the safety of our people there are going to have to be a few things that need to be done, one being that no one can go looking for anymore harnessed kids, including Hal"

At this news Tom knew why Weaver wanted to talk in private, he didn't want the others to see him beat the living shit out of their captain.

"How can you expect me to allow those aliens to keep my son from me? They took him from me once and as soon as I get him back they take him from me again, right in front of me and I was powerless to do anything but watch! I let him down not only once but twice! There is no way that I'm just going to leave him" he didn't care what Weaver did to him, he was going to do whatever he had to rescue his son and make damn sure that he would never need rescuing again.

-Weaver-

Weaver looked at him with sympathy that only another parent could show, he understood the pain his words were causing, if their roles had been reversed he would have been fighting tooth and nail to get his daughter back but he had to do what was best for the mass. and if that meant having to sacrifice Hal Mason he was angry at himself but it had to be done. One life was not worth the lives of many.

He wasn't dumb, he knew that in the eyes of Tom and many others he was an evil man who had no regards to the feelings of others but that wasn't true! Whenever someone whom he had been close to in the mass. had perished at the hands of the aliens he had mourned for them, he had even helped a mother protect her young son when they had been ambushed into a corner.

But no one saw that whenever he was forced to order them to do things like this, he was the villain and he was willing to accept that, to allow their hatred to be directed at him that way it wouldn't destroy them and if that meant that he was used as a regular punching bag so be it.

Looking at the father before him he spoke in a calm voice, knowing that no matter what he said he wouldn't change Tom's feelings on the subject.

"You can hate me all you want, hell you can punch me! But I am only doing what is best for the mass. and I'm sorry Tom but that doesn't include risking our necks to save Hal. Now I'm hoping that you will at least do me the favor of doing as I say and coming with us but knowing you that's not going to happen so I'm willing to give you some supplies along with a few weapons and ammo, that way you can go out on your own and risk your own neck" Weaver hated to lose Tom, he was a valuable asset, but his mind was not in the right state of mind, he knew that the moment he let him out of his sight he would run off in search of his son, it was better to let him go now before they arrived at their new campsite.

-Tom-

Tom was shocked at what he had just heard, Weaver was offering to allow him to leave the mass. in pursuit of his son, with supplies, weapons and ammo to boot!

This could be his last and maybe even only chance to get his son back, he was wounded though and that would slow him down immensely but he if he didn't leave now his chances of finding Hal grew slimmer and slimmer.

He couldn't and wouldn't bring Ben and Matt with him, he wouldn't risk them being hurt or captured, no, he needed to do this on his own that way the only life at stake was his own.

Meeting Weaver's eyes Tom spoke, "thank you, I'll pack the few supplies you can spare then head off. Just promise me that you'll take good care of my boys, make sure that they don't try to go after me"

It was odd, he had went from hating this man to entrusting him with his kid's safety, of course he would ask the same of Anne but it was always nice to know that another was there to watch them as well.

"I'll make sure they're well taken care of, of course I'm sure Anne will be their number one caretaker but I'll do what I can" patting him on the shoulder Weaver and Tom walked back over to the truck they had been at and Weaver handed him a backpack that already had a few supplies in it like water, protein bars, matches and a few other materials.

A few more items were added, including a few small boxes of ammo, a knife and a handgun and the rifle that was already resting on Tom's back.

Slipping the pack over his free shoulder Tom thanked Weaver once more than turned and walked over to his boys who were waiting for him by Anne.

Stopping in front of them he knelt down in front of Matt and drew first him into a hug then stood back up and enveloped Ben in one as well. Pulling back he almost cried himself at the tears he saw in Matt's eyes, Ben looked at him with silent sadness, the only giveaway of his emotions was that of his shaking arms that were braced against his stomach.

-Matt-

"Where are you going dad?" Matt knew something was going on because he could see the heated discussion that had gone on between Weaver and his dad and the next thing he knew his dad was hugging him and Ben like he was never going to see them again.

He didn't like the sad look his dad had on, it was the same look he had given them when he had told them about Hal being taken, that look always brought trouble.

-Tom-

"I'm going to find your brother, but I need you two to stay with the mass. and take care of each other while I'm gone" he saw the argument about to spew forth from Ben but he blocked it.

"It's too dangerous for you to come with me, I'm not going to risk either of your safeties, promise me that you'll look after each other and do as Anne and Weaver tell you, there needs to be some order while I'm away" he didn't tell them that it was more than likely that he was never going to return, that his journey may end in death.

-Anne-

Anne stepped forward and wrapped her arms around Tom, placing her lips at the curve of his neck and placing a kiss. She had seen the underlined sentence in his words; he was leaving and it was more than possible that they would never see him again and that he wanted her to look after his boys.

Pulling back she took her place back beside the younger Masons and watched him finish saying goodbye to his sons.

-Ben-

He hated this! His dad was going off alone, injured, after the aliens, he would be killed for sure! Ben knew that if he went with him there was a better chance that his dad would survive the journey but his dad would have none of that, he had placed Matt under his care and his dad knew that Matt's safety was very important to Ben.

-Tom-

Giving his loved ones one last look he walked away from them and headed in the same direction the aliens had taken.

A pair of thudding footsteps behind him caused him to stop and turn around, jogging up to him was Maggie carrying a pack of her own and her own personal firearms.

"What are you doing Maggie?"

She smiled, "you're going to need backup and I figured that your best option was me, I've spent some time out there on my own before I joined up with Pope, I know a few tricks. And, Hal's my friend, he would do the same for me if our roles were reversed"

Tom wanted to object, he didn't want to have to worry about getting her killed but she had a point, she could be useful and it was safer in numbers. Going back on what he said about traveling solo he nodded his head and together they both started walking, following the tracks left by the aliens.

**A/N: Hope you enjoyed the update and sorry that it took so long, the next chapter has quite an emotional part that I hope you'll all like along with another Doppelganger POV. Also, if you have the time look up the songs that inspired the chapters within this story. Story of the year is an awesome band and their songs had a huge part in inspiring this story. Listen to them if you want and tell me what you think of them. **


	12. Falling Down

-Tom-

Rain had started to torrent down, soaking Tom and Maggie with water and causing uncontrollable shivers to course through their bodies.

In an attempt to stave off pneumonia they had stopped and made camp under a thick foliage of trees, the branches and leaves not keeping all the rain out but most of it.

Gathering the driest wood and sticks they could find, along with something that could justify as kindling Tom set to work on lighting one of their precious matches and breathed a sigh of relief that the flame took and quickly added more wood to the growing flame.

Maggie lugged a log over to the fire and sat down in front of the flame, taking her soaked gloves off to warm her hands. She flexed her hands in front of the warmth, trying to get feeling back into them.

Tom took a look around their surroundings then sat down beside her, following her example and removing his own gloves to be warmed by the fire.

"So what's the plan?" she suddenly asked, picking up her rifle and checking her ammunition.

Tom wrung out his gloves then set them down beside him, staring into the flame as it danced before him.

"Find Hal and bring him back to safety" it wasn't much of a plan, more like a hope really, but his mind was a complete mess right now and didn't have the mental strength to look past the fact that his eldest had been taken from him, again.

-Maggie-

She stopped messing with her weapon and looked over at the older man, concern and sympathy marring her face before quickly disappearing.

"We should get some rest then, I'll take first watch" she made to get up but Hal grabbed her wrist, she had a moment where she almost attacked him, her instincts and personal experience telling her to fight, but she reigned those feelings in, this was Tom Mason, he was safe, she could trust him.

-Tom-

Tom could feel her body stiffen and he looked up just in time to see her rigid features, realizing what he had done he quickly released her and apologized immediately.

"I'm so sorry Maggie, I didn't mean-"

she interrupted him, "It's okay, you just surprised me is all"

Still feeling guilty but dropping the subject he said what he had meant to say, "I'll take the first watch, I have so many thoughts running through my head that I wouldn't be able to sleep anyway"

Now that he said it aloud it didn't sound like he should be taking first watch, with his thoughts being all over the place should he really be trusted to protect them while she slept?

-Maggie-

She could see doubt begin to blossom in Tom's eyes and she took advantage of the opportunity.

"Look I know you have that whole paternal thing going on but I'm a big girl, and you need sleep way more than I do and besides you said so yourself you have all these thoughts going through your head which means you'll be distracted; get some sleep Tom, I'll wake you when it's your shift" knowing that she had won the argument she sat down in front of a tree and rested her rifle on her lap, looking out at the area they would temporarily call home.

-Tom-

Seeing that he had lost the argument Tom resigned himself to laying down on ground and attempted to get comfortable.

As soon as he closed his eyes his vision was succumbed with images of Hal being tortured by the aliens and then Ben and Matt being drug in and executed. His eyes popped back open and his breaths slowly evened out when he mentally told himself that it was just a nightmare, he only hoped it continued to stay one.

-Hal-

Collapsing on what he would call the floor Hal closed his eyes, adding on to his already dark world, at least this darkness he could control.

"Hal"

His eyes snapped open at the unexpected yet familiar voice, looking up he saw Karen and not just the shell of Karen but the inner soul of Karen, the one he had fallen in love with.

Getting up Hal noticed that he was no longer in the dark confines of his mind but he was now in the weird alien dream land and that brought him some relief.

"Karen, how...how am I here?" he walked up to her and engulfed her in a hug, the unfamiliar numbness of their bodies meeting coursed through him but he was more than glad that he was no longer alone.

Pulling back he was confused to find that she wasn't smiling, "what's wrong?"

She shook her head and turned her back to him, he was hurt by this but he didn't pressure her to answer him.

"You were never supposed to come back" she whispered, still not turning to face him.

Hal broke his vigilance and walked up to her, wrapping her up in his arms, resting his chin on her shoulder.

"I know this isn't exactly the rescue you were hoping for but nothing was going to keep me away, as soon as I found a way to save you, along with the others, I was going to come back" she turned around in his arms, unfeelable tears shining on her skin.

"We have to be realistic Hal, the possibility of you actually saving us and getting away in the process is incredibly unlikely and besides they have you on an even tighter leash than the rest of us" she rubbed the back of his neck and Hal lowered his eyes, hating the hopelessness he met when he looked into Karen's eyes.

She had given up.

Karen tried to get him to look at her but he shook her hands away, walking away from her and stopping when he was a few steps away.

He watched as the tunnels of colors swam around him, new colors splatting together to create new colors and designs. It was like a living piece of art.

"When did you stop believing?" he didn't turn to face her, he couldn't knowing that she had lost all faith in him, in herself and the human race.

"For the longest time I did have hope Hal, hope was all that kept me going in here, it's what kept me from going insane but the longer you spend waiting for rescue the more you begin to doubt that help is really coming at all"

Hal turned to look at her, this time he did make eye contact and he was saddened to find that the hopelessness remained.

"I came, maybe not in the form of rescue that you were hoping for but I came, with all intents of getting you and every other harnessed kid out of here; did you still have hope then or did you lose it the moment I was gone?" his tone was accusing and he couldn't help but be a little mad, he needed to know when she had lost faith in him.

She struggled with her response, her struggle only confirmed his suspicions.

He could feel his heart crack and pieces drop into a dark abyss, it felt like all the air had been sucked from his lungs and his body was cold, she was supposed to be his beacon of light to fight against the dark entity that he could feel trying to consume all of him.

"I still love you Hal...that never changed" her words were cracked, tears choking her words.

Hal didn't know what to feel, she loved him, yet she had no faith in him? What kind of love was that?

"I wish that was enough" as if he had pressed a button he found himself back inside his own mind, but the sadness and anger he felt from the other traveled with him.

-Doppelganger-

It smiled at the utter heart break its pathetic counterpart was experiencing, the sweet taste of sorrow was like a delicacy to it, that and fear which was the most scrumptious of all.

The aliens had informed it of an attack that they were planning and while it was well planned out it knew that it would tweak those plans so that it could surround itself with the mutilated corpses of those annoying humans.

From the corner of its eye it could see the harnessed girl who had been there when it had been released beckoning it over, at her side was what it learned from Hal's memories to be a skitter, or that was what the humans coined them.

"We have a job for you" she spoke, her face impassive.

It was thrilled to finally have something to do, it hoped it had to do with hunting down humans.

"There have been sightings of a small camp of humans living in the ruins of the city, they have been causing a lot of problems for us and since we know that you have quite the bloodlust we are hoping that you wouldn't mind taking care of this problem" it was more of a request than a statement but then again they knew by the gleam in the doppelganger's eye that it would go above and beyond the call of duty.

"It'll be a privilege" an evil grin lit up its face and the aliens knew that they had been right in bringing this personality into the game.

"I assume you know the area we're speaking of?" they had their answer at the nod he gave them.

Without another word it turned on its heel and strode out of the factory, it's body vibrating with giddiness at the fun it was about to have.

It couldn't wait to shred those humans apart, revel in the blood that seeped from their bodies and watch the life leave their eyes leaving in its wake a dull void of an empty shell.

The beginning of its rampage had finally begun.

**A/N: I hoped you enjoyed the update and I am telling you now that the next chapter has a gruesome scene with the Doppelganger, FYI I sometimes have a little too much for with the character as you'll be able to tell in the next chapter. Please review because it encourages me to write!**


	13. Swallow The Knife

**A/N: Sorry I know I haven't updated in a while but I hope this chapter will be worth the wait. There is no Hal POV in this chapter, mainly Tom and Maggie and a rather gruesome scene with the Doppelganger. ENJOY!**

-Tom-

Morning came and Tom and Maggie left their campsite and started walking again, he didn't know if they were getting closer or farther away from the area the aliens had taken Hal, Tom only knew that he would walk anywhere and in any conditions to find his son.

They had only been walking for about an hour when Tom's leg began to cramp, it was only a matter of time before his leg gave him issues and it had chosen now to remind him of its existence. He tried to keep walking but he misjudged his next step and tripped, landing on the ground and inhaling a cloud of dirt.

"Tom!" Maggie rushed to his side and looked around them, her rifle aimed for any possible threat that may have taken Tom down.

Tom coughed and tried to pull himself up from the ground but his leg was still seizing.

"I just tripped Maggie, you can relax" Tom tried to calm her nerves as he maneuvered himself around so that he was sitting.

Maggie relaxed her grip on her rifle but remained on high alert.

"It's been a while since you changed the dressings on that wound, and some painkillers wouldn't hurt" she spoke as she took her pack off and brought a roll of gauze and a small bottle of painkillers.

He was a little taken aback at Maggie's intuition at what was needed, he knew that the girl had a good heart and was good with a gun but he had no clue that she was also knowledgeable about first aid.

Tom took the offered supplies from her and nodded in thanks, Maggie got up from the ground and held out her hand to help him up.

Grunting in pain Tom leaned on her as she helped him limp over to a grassy area and also helped him sit down.

"I figure you would be able to take care of this on your own, that and someone needs to keep watch" Tom nodded in understanding as she re-gripped her rifle and turned her back to him.

-Maggie-

As Tom fixed himself up I kept a careful eye on our surroundings, this would be an opportune time for the aliens to attack, Tom was down and she was the only one with a rifle prepared to fire, they were easy pickings.

She still didn't have any regrets about coming with Tom, he needed her help and though he was trying to be noble by going alone they both knew that he wouldn't have survived for long without backup, mainly due to the fact that he was injured.

Behind her she could hear Tom struggling to get up and she turned and helped him up, letting him walk on his own when he was able to.

From her time out on her own she had been able to take the time to learn the terrain and the deeper into the forested area they were in the more she started to recognize their surroundings and if she was correct then there should be a small town up ahead, they could stop and maybe get some more supplies.

"I'm starting to recognize this area, if I'm right there should be a town up ahead, I know we just stopped but we may be able to find some more supplies before we continue" she kept her focus in front of her, not wanting to risk a potential attack from the front because she had looked behind her.

-Tom-

Tom didn't want to stop again, he wanted to keep on going, they had already wasted precious time dealing with his leg but she was right, they needed more supplies and maybe, though how unlikely it may be, Hal was down there somewhere.

"All right, but we stay together and we only do a quick search through the area and then we keep moving, unless we find evidence of skitters" he wanted to be quick but he didn't want to be too hasty and miss Hal.

They walked about another mile before arriving at the town that Maggie had talked about. The streets were abandoned, cars were left in the middle of the road and some were nothing but carcasses.

It was a true ghost town, windows were boarded up and the few windows that weren't had shattered glass around the edges from them being broken.

Maggie and him walked deeper into the town, their eyes scanning the windows and alleys for any potential threats.

Coming across a grocery store they entered the building and paused when they heard the sound of breaking glass. Raising their weapons both strode forward, guns aimed and prepared to fire. Another sound echoed back to them and heightened their nerves, this was either an alien or a human being, they hoped the latter because a human could be reasoned with, some of the time.

A form suddenly stumbled into their line of sight and they prepared to fire but when Tom saw that it was a man, probably drunk by his inability to stay standing and the stench wafting off him, he lowered his weapon; he idly wondered how he managed to find that much booze. Maggie saw this as well and lowered her weapon but didn't let her guard down, drunks could be very unpredictable.

The drunk sluggishly rose from the ground and tried to level himself by leaning against the wall. Tom stepped towards the man, his gun now hanging from the strap on his back, he didn't know what kind of drunk this man was but if he was the violent type he hoped to diffuse the situation quickly so that Maggie didn't have to shoot.

"Hey, are you alright?" he asked, taking a step back when the man branded his knife, his eyes dilated from the heavy amount of alcohol sloshing around inside him.

He heard the cock of Maggie's rifle and Tom raised his hand and gestured to her to stand down, he wanted to see if he could talk with the guy first before resorting to violence.

"''ou the 'ell are you ?" the man slurred, jabbing his knife in their direction.

Tom raised his hands in a placating gesture, showing him that he meant him no harm.

"I'm Tom and this is Maggie, we're not here to hurt you, we're just looking for supplies" he kept his voice calm and soothing, his movements slow and exaggerated.

It looked like the man was about to reply but instead he coughed and hacked something up, turning his head he spit the phlegm out, wiping his mouth with the back of his free hand.

"Pete, an ou won't find none" lowering the knife the man brought the blade to his fingers and started digging dirt out from under the nails with the tip.

Stumbling away, no longer interested with them he went out of sight, though they could hear him rustling around with something.

Following the noise they found Pete splayed out in between aisles 3 & 4, a bottle of what looked to be whiskey in one hand and a picture of a woman in the other. Tom wondered where he had found the alcohol, he hadn't seen any alcohol for a long time now and this man had been guzzling the stuff down from the empty bottles that were littered around him.

Tom took a step forward but paused when he accidentally kicked a bottle, alerting Pete to their presence. Looking up at them he attempted to pick his knife back up but he was so drunk that he couldn't find it.

Squatting down in front of the man Tom took a moment to look the man over, his clothes were practically rags, his shoes looked like they were going to dissolve off his feet, his eyes were bloodshot and it looked like he hadn't had anything to eat with actual sustenance.

The last thing he noticed was that he had a ring on his ring finger, Tom started to put the pieces together and surmised that the woman in the photo was most likely his wife.

"What was her name?" he asked, sympathizing with him, he had lost his wife also and he knew some of the emotions he had to be feeling.

Pete seemed to become sober remarkable fast, it may have been because of the subject but it looked like he was actually going to answer.

"Maria, we had been married for ten years and then those damn aliens came and took her away from me!" he took another swig from the bottle, tears started to fall down his cheeks.

A hand on his shoulder alerted Tom and he turned to look at Maggie, "we need to get going" she insisted.

Tom knew she was right, there was nothing they could do here, nothing could cure this broken man's heart except time and a lot of alcohol.

Getting up from the floor Tom followed Maggie down the aisle to the door, they could hear Pete continue to sob his sorrows out. Tom didn't think the man would survive much longer, but that was his choice and he knew that if the man truly wanted to die there wouldn't be anything anyone could do to persuade him otherwise.

They left the building and continued walking down the street of the town, gathering supplies no longer on their minds.

-Doppelganger-

It had finally arrived at the crumbling city that was once Massachusetts. It could feel the enticing lingering fear and sorrow that permeated the desolate buildings and streets and along with that the tantalizing aroma of bloodshed.

Keeping it's ears open it listened into the deadly silence, waiting to hear the sound of scavenging humans.

There it was! The fun had finally begun!

Following the noise to a building that was falling apart it looked around the confines, knowing that there were humans presence from the empty cans of food and blankets strewn about.

"Don't fucking move!" a male voice hissed into its ear, the mouth of a gun biting into the side of its head.

More humans emerged from the shadows, all wielding their own firearms.

"Who are you?" a woman stepped forward, staring menacingly at it. It guessed that she must be the leader of the gang of humans.

"I could go for the cliché and say you're worst nightmare but I think this is so much more compelling" before anyone even blinked the doppelganger lashed out and grabbed the man's hand and snapped the bone, causing the man to scream in agony, but his screams were quickly silenced when it snapped his neck.

All of this happened in a matter of milliseconds. The man's body dropped to the floor and the humans opened fire. One bullet managed to lodge itself into its shoulder but it didn't even feel it; walking through the onslaught of bullets it grabbed the closest human and grabbed the gun she was holding and repeatedly bashed the butt into her face before violently snapping her neck with such brutal force that her head went all the way around.

There were five humans remaining, a few more bullets were added to its body but the pain did not register.

Bending down it picked up a jagged piece of glass and got very created with its next few kills, one of them involving another shard of glass being shoved down a throat.

It saved the leader for last, it wanted her to see all of her friends savagely murdered before it ripped her throat out.

Now covered in its victims' blood it stalked towards its last victim, it's eyes gleaming with murderous delight and a sneer making it look even more demonic with the blood that it was drenched in.

She tried to get another shot off but her gun clicked ominously, she was out of bullets and out of time. As a last resort she whipped a wicked blade out but somehow she knew that that wouldn't kill the monster before her.

It laughed and gripped the blade, squeezing so that it bit into its palm and blood dripped onto the floor, "the more you fight the more I want to rip that pretty face off"

Wrenching the knife from her grasp it grabbed her by the throat, giving her just enough room to get a small amount of air into her lungs.

Examining the knife it cleaned a line of blood off the blade and slid the digit into its mouth, reveling in the intoxicating taste of the blood.

"What are you?" she gasped, pawing at the hand around her throat.

Another dark laugh came from it and squeezer her throat tighter, completely cutting off her air supply.

"I thought I made that clear? No? Well I apologize for not being as clear as I had thought, but let's just go with the last thing you'll ever see" with one thrust it dug the knife deep into her heart, piercing the organ with a satisfying squish.

Yanking the blade out it dropped her to the ground and leaned over her, enjoying watching the life leave her eyes. Blood seeped from the wound and from the corners of her mouth, her eyes wide in fear.

It quickly grew bored with the amount of time it was taking her to die so it sped the process up, fisting it's hand it plunged its hand into the hole over her heart and gripped the sluggishly beating organ, still watching her it squeezed the organ until it burst in its hand.

She was instantly dead.

Pulling its hand out it rose from the floor and turned and walked out of the building, not giving the gruesome scene it had created a last glance.

It's work was done, for now anyways.

**A/N: Hope you enjoyed the update, and I don't know how the rest of you will portray the Doppelganger's scene but I for one thought it was pretty gruesome but if not then at least I tried. And I can promise you now that the next chapter has a cliffhanger that your probably going to hate me for but for now please review!**


	14. The Antidote

**A/N: Okay everyone, I have to say that I am pretty disappointed with the amount of reviews I got for the last chapter, only two!, and I am graciously thankful to Feyfangirl and BrokenSky49 who did review the last chapter. I do appreciate all the reviews I have gotten for this story but I would really like to see more. I'm sorry if I'm being mean but please people, the extreme lack of reviews for chapters is really disheartening and bringing down my confidence with this story.**

-Hal-

He didn't want to admit defeat, he didn't want to give in to the all consuming hopelessness that threatened to swallow him whole. Giving up would mean that the aliens had won, that they had broken him and he was going to allow them to kill everyone he cared about.

But the tentacles of doubt, anger and sorrow were so overpowering that he couldn't get up from the ground, it was like they were pinning him down and were slowly eating away at his soul, he was afraid that if the rampage continued he would slowly revert into the monster that currently controlled his body, a rage filled psychopath.

Finding his body filling with strength he lifted himself up from the ground and angrily paced around, his hand clenched into fists, if he had something to hit or preferable a certain doppelganger he would.

"You should just give up now Hal, it would make everything so much easier" stopping his pacing he turned around and saw it was standing a few feet away from him, a blank look on its face.

His anger amplifying he ran at it but collided into nothing, stunned Hal looked around and saw that it was now standing behind him.

"I'll never be like you" he gritted out, staying in place as he sent a death glare its way.

It shook his head a smile on its face, "well I would hope not, there's only room for one truly gifted killer but I'm sure you could come in a close second"

The memory of what it had done in his dream returned and he shuddered, "haven't I told you this before? I'm a part of you Hal, I do the things that deep down you wish you had the balls to do"

"Why won't you just leave me alone? You won okay? You have control and I have nothing!" he yelled, taking a few steps towards it, he wanted to kill the thing so badly but he knew that that was something he could never do, especially now.

The doppelganger met him halfway, a dark gleam in its eyes, "I will never leave you Hal, I'll be here until the day you die" it stated.

And before Hal's eyes it vanished, leaving him alone once again.

-Tom-

They had been walking for about two hours when they stopped at an old rundown barn. There were several cracks and holes in the walls, the roof was beginning to rot away and the door was hanging off its hinges; but it was shelter and it was better than having to sleep outside again.

Entering the barn they made camp deeper inside where the wind wasn't as chilling and got to work on making a fire, they would have to be careful though because of the flammable items around them.

"We'll rest here for tonight then keep going tomorrow morning" Tom decided while he attended to the small fire, being wary to not let any of the sparks catch fire.

Maggie made a sound of acknowledgment and rested her back against the wall, her rifle on her lap and a canteen of water in her hand. She took a small sip then passed it over to Tom who did the same, they were trying to conserve their water supplies because they didn't know how long it would before they were able to get more.

"You know I've been thinking, the aliens always make their bases in large abandoned buildings like hospitals or warehouses and I know I've been in this area before so I know that there is a few abandoned warehouses and factories three miles ahead. If we don't stop for anything we might be able to reach them by tomorrow" she informed him.

Tom nodded then spoke, "how do you know this area so well?" he was beyond curious, he knew that she had been on her own before joining Pope but he didn't know the full story of where she had originally traveled from.

She paused and hesitated on answering, Tom could see that he had hit a sensitive subject and was about to drop the subject but she beat him to it, "I grew up in this area, haven't been back here since the day of the invasion"

-Maggie-

She hadn't talked about her past with anyone, she didn't want to appear weak in front of potential enemies and wasn't comfortable with letting anyone in. Not even Hal knew her back story.

"I lived with my mom and dad in our old house, I was saving up money from my job as a waitress at a trashy diner. My mom kept insisting that I could stay as long as I wanted but my dad wanted me to pack up as soon as I could, we were never close, my brother was a hotshot lawyer in New York and I was a pathetic waitress, a huge disappointment. On the day of the invasion him and I got into one of our more nastier fights, he wanted me to start paying rent and when I told him that I would he went on a rant about not trusting me to come through and I said right to his face that I hated him then I walked out. An hour later the invasion happened and both my parents were dead" she finished, a faraway look in her eyes and silent tears streaming down her face.

Every day she had to live with the fact that the last words she ever said to her dad was that she hated him, he died thinking she hated him but the truth was that she loved him so much and just wanted him to look at her the same way he looked at her brother, with respect, admiration and love.

She didn't know what happened to her brother, he might still be alive somewhere or he could have perished, she didn't know.

-Tom-

"I'm sorry about your family, we never know when we're going to see or speak to someone for the last time, I remember the last thing I said to my wife before she died; it wasn't anything meaningful it was just a simple 'be careful' every day I wish that I had told her I loved her or that I had gone with her but then I have to remember that if I had my boys might have become orphans. You can think of all the what-ifs you want, like if I had gone with her maybe she would still be alive or if I had gotten to her sooner but that can just drive you mad. I'm not saying that it's an easy thing to get over, but you can't let it consume you because whether you think so or not your mom and dad wouldn't want you to live with that guilt" he had felt the same self-loathing thoughts that she had and was facing, hell he still had moments where he thought of what-ifs but like he had advised before, you can't let them rule you.

Both were silent after Tom's input, the awkwardness in the air was making them squirm in their skin. Being a father Tom had given heartfelt advice and input before but never about something this deep, the biggest thing he had ever talked to his sons about was about safe sex and he had a hard enough time with that, his wife pretty much had to finish the talk with Hal.

"Well...thanks for the talk, I'm going to get some fresh air" Maggie gripped her rifle as she stood up from the ground and headed for the door. He had the urge to tell her to be careful but he bit his tongue, the last time he had said that someone he loved had been taken away from him.

-Maggie-

Stepping outside she slung the strap of the rifle over her shoulder and walked a little ways from the barn, looking up at the sky she watched as a shooting star shot across the sky, or it could have been an alien ship you just couldn't tell these days.

When she was little she used to sit up on the roof of her house and look at the stars, she wanted to be an astronomer and look at the stars all day and discover new planets and whenever she saw a shooting star she would wish that one day she would be a famous astronomer and discover all sorts of new planets.

Now she would wish that things could go back to the way things were before the invasion, no matter how bad she thought her life was at least she would have her parents and brother.

She could feel the tears starting up again and she quickly wiped her eyes, this was the second time tonight she had cried and she hated showing this much weakness. Taking a deep breath she prepared to go back inside but froze at the loud haunting screech that filtered through the air, it was a mech. and from the sound of it, it was coming towards their location.

Tom had heard it too and had run out to her and shouted at her to run, thinking the same they both took off in the opposite direction. The mech. had spotted them because soon it was firing at them.

Veering off to the right they found themselves running through what once was a apple orchard, thousands of rotten and dried up apples littered the walkway and the stench was eye watering. The mech. was still high on their trail, firing off shots that always hit where they had been previously and sometimes they had to quickly jump out of the way while continuing to run.

Coming to the end of the orchard they could see in the distance a covering of trees, if they could just make it there they could take cover and return fire. They kept running but were puzzled when they no longer heard the mech. Not wanting to look a gift horse in the mouth they continued towards the trees but soon found out why the mech. had stopped, crawling out from the trees was a long line of skitters, they were outnumbered.

Turning around they saw that they were now surrounded, there was nowhere left to go. They were trapped.

Maggie raised her rifle and fired off a few shots, each making contact with their target but when one skitter fell another took its place.

Tom just stood in shock, they had come so far and now they were going to be killed. He knew from the start that they might not come back alive but he had hoped to at least make it to his son.

From behind them they could hear the mech. powering up and both Maggie and Tom stood in place, fighting was futile but they would be damned if they were going to go down without a fight.

Lifting their weapons both began to open fire at all the aliens, making sure that they would take some of them down with them.

Maggie screamed in rage as she fired off round after round, and Tom shot with cold hatred.

Soon they were clicking with an empty chamber and they dropped their weapons. The skitters just looked at them, some tilting their heads as if in amusement at their lame attempt of vengeance.

The bright light from the mech. illuminated them and both turned to meet their fate, they looked at the weapon that the mech. was pointing at them.

"Since this is probably the last thing I'll ever say to you I just want you to know that I've always admired you. Your an excellent fighter, leader and an even stronger father" Maggie turned to him and smiled.

Tom returned the smile, "You're a wonderful young woman and one hell of a soldier, but you also have a kind heart and I know that your parents must be so proud of the woman you have become"

Now that the sentiments were over they only had a second left of breath before the mech. fired and shrouded them in darkness.

**A/N: As stated before you guys need to start reviewing more, because the more reviews I get the quicker I update, I write off reviews people and the next chapter is written. Review if you want to see it!**


	15. The Black Swan

**A/N: Thank you so much for all the positive reviews for the last chapter, I'm warning you now that this chapter is filled with Doppelganger torture, you have been warned.**

-Doppelganger-

Having returned to the alien's base it looked around the factory until it saw the one controlling the human named Karen. Walking over to her it made its return known and she turned to it with an appreciative smile.

"From the looks of you I take it your mission was a success" she stated, her eyes roaming over its blood drenched appearance.

It smiled in return, "you won't have to worry about them anymore, but now that those humans are taken care of when can we move on to that bigger pest known as the 2nd Mass?" it was dying to spill more blood.

She laughed at its enthusiasm, "soon, I assure you your appetite will be tended to" as she spoke she looked over the doppelganger's shoulder and saw that the group that had been sent out had returned and were carrying precious cargo.

Looking back to the bloodthirsty being in front of her she smiled wickedly, "in fact, how about we start you off with an appetizer?"

Following her view it turned around and a matching smile slithered onto its face. Being dragged by two skitters was the unconscious forms of Maggie and Tom.

They watched as the group got closer then stopped in front of the two, the two skitters scurried up and dropped their cargoes in front of them. A skinny walked up behind them and Karen's harness glowed.

"You have done well, now go back out and collect more earthling children" the aliens did as ordered and turned around to go out collecting.

The skinny communicated something to Karen and she nodded her head in understanding, turning to the doppelganger she spoke.

"We are you giving you permission to play with them but you cannot kill them, we need them alive. And while you're playing we need you to find out where their group is going " she instructed, watching as it bent down and ran a bloody finger along the woman's cheek, leaving a thin line of blood.

It was disappointed that it wouldn't get to shed as much blood as it was hoping for but at least it got new toys. Getting up from the ground it looked to Karen,

"Fine, as long as I can go out hunting later, this will only keep me entertained for so long" it nodded towards the two unconscious humans, treating them as nothing more than unimportant inanimate objects.

She nodded in consent then turned to leave but stopped, "you're going to want to take care of those bullet holes, you may not feel it but your body is human and if you lose too much blood you'll pass out and you'll be of no use to us" with that she sauntered off.

Looking down it inspected the wound in its shoulder and curiously fingered the injury, it didn't feel anything but it grinned when its human counterpart cried out in pain.

While making the human suffer was very appealing Karen was right, it couldn't continue what it had set out to do if it died from blood loss, making up its mind it grabbed the unconscious humans by one of their ankles and started dragging them towards the shelter of the factory.

Entering the factory it continued to drag the humans until it came to the two metal slabs that had been equipped to harness children. Effortlessly lifting up the humans one at a time it strapped them down then after making sure that the restraints were extra tight it went to tend to its injuries.

Walking through the building it stopped when it came across a table layered with tools, it smiled, these would come in handy but they would be of no use for its current task.

Finally finding a dated first aid kit it snatched the small metal case off the wall and walked back over to the humans, they were still unconscious but it would remedy that soon enough.

Setting the kit down it unlatched the latches then pulled its bloody shirt off, dropping it on the floor. With the shirt now off its torso was revealed and five more bullet holes were uncovered, three littered the area around its abdomen and two were scattered higher up.

Rifling through the kit it found a pair of tweezers and effortlessly jammed the ends into the bullet hole in its shoulder and dug around until it closed around the bullet and pulled the foreign object out.

From inside it relished the screams it was causing Hal.

-Hal-

He was thrashing around, screaming in agony at the mysterious pains that were shooting through his body. What the hell was going on? And not only that but he was really lightheaded, like he had lost an enormous amount of blood.

A moment of calm happened but was soon taken away by another stab of pain, this time resonating in his abdomen.

-Doppelganger-

It had removed five of the bullets, luckily they hadn't been too deep, and was working on the last one when it heard groaning, finally, its toys were waking up.

Digging the last bullet out it spoke, "I'll be with you in a second" it muttered, focused on its task.

Finding that the kit was well stocked, it found a small sewing kit. Not caring about disinfecting it threaded the needle then got to work on stitching up its wounds.

Tying and snipping the end off, it dabbed antiseptic over the new stitches then placed a gauze bandage over the area then moved on to the next.

-Tom-

When he first came to his whole body was tingling and his mind was cloudy. His first attempt at opening his eyes was a failure, the light was too bright for his sensitive eyes and he found that he could barely move an inch.

He groaned in pain when a rather violent wave of pain went through him.

"I'll be with you in a second"

This time he did manage to keep his eyes open, he recognized that voice, it was Hal! But he didn't sound like himself and that concerned him deeply.

Angling his head he managed to make out a bleary form in front of him, his vision not 100% back yet but he knew that that form was his son and when his vision slowly started to get better he was horrified at the amount of blood that he saw.

He watched in horrified fascination as his son quietly sewed himself up, not even flinching when the needle went in and out of his skin.

"Hal?" he breathed.

Having heard him Hal stopped what he was doing and turned to him, an unnerving smile covered his face then he finished bandaging the last wound that he could see Hal closed the kit and walked closer to him.

The smile remained on his face as he looked down at him.

Something was wrong, he could feel it, somehow he could sense that the person in front of him was not his son. The eyes were soulless and uncaring and the smile was filled with malicious intent.

Finally the imposter opened its mouth and spoke, "I'm afraid Hal isn't here right now, but I'll be glad to keep you both company"

Tom watched as it walked away from him, following its movements for as long as he could until he couldn't see it anymore .

Another groan caught his attention and he turned his head and saw Maggie beginning to stir, like him she was also strapped down but her eyes were still closed.

The imposter came back and was holding a tape-measure, its wicked blade gleaming in the light. He started to struggle when it brought the blade down to his face, running the edge of the blade across his cheek, a calculating look on its face as it watched his skin quiver under the blade's touch.

"What are you?" he said the words before he could stop himself, the words had been running around in his head but one of the lines had escaped.

It stopped its movements and looked at him, it quirked its head as if only realizing that he was there then the look was replaced with a casual smile as it brought the knife away from his face and played with the blade in its hand.

"You're the second person to ask me that and the explanation I gave her is partially true in your case but unfortunately, or at least for me, your fate won't be the same as hers, not yet anyway" accidentally pricking its finger a spot of blood welled up at the tip of his index finger and it stuck the digit in its mouth, sucking until the blood flow had slowed down.

Maggie groaned in pain, catching its attention and it turned around to look down at her.

-Maggie-

Her body felt like it had just gone through a brutal beating and had lost, miserably. Slowly opening her eyes, she squinted until her eyes adjusted and widened in alarm when she had no clue where she was.

She tried to remember what had happened but her memory was a little foggy, the only thing she could remember was that she had gone with Tom to save Hal and besides a few more flashes of images after that none of them told her where she was.

Another thing that frightened and confused her was that she could barely move, it didn't take her long to figure out that she had been restrained but she had no clue how this had happened.

Jostling the wrong body part she groaned in pain and soon felt a pair of eyes looking at her, bracing herself she prepared herself to meet the cold black eyes of an alien but she was shocked by what she saw instead.

Hal.

At first she was elated to see his familiar face but those emotions stopped when she saw the expression on his face and the blade in his hand.

Something was terribly wrong, this wasn't Hal!

-Doppelganger-

Now that both of its toys were awake its playtime could begin.

It walked closer to the woman and reached out, gently running its fingers through her slightly dirty hair, she moved her head around, trying to get it to stop but it was much too fascinated.

This human was quite attractive, it could see why most men would probably do anything to have a night alone with her but it wasn't interested in sex, it was merely an observant.

Finally pulling back it walked away from both of the humans and stopped when it was standing in front of them, in between the two slabs.

"As the two of you have probably deduced, I'm not Hal. Nor would I want to be, that human is far too weak and filled up with moral bullshit to be any fun! Me on the other hand, I like to take every moral that your world has ever had and shove it down your throats, along with a few other things" it stated, waving the blade around.

It stopped its movements and walked forward so it was standing in the middle of them.

Not wasting any more time for talking it turned to face Maggie and brought the blade down to her throat, the human didn't dare struggle for fear of slicing her throat open.

With barely any effort it moved the blade and cut a precise line down the side of her throat, blood welled up from the seam and she groaned deep in her throat, keeping her mouth firmly shut so as to not release the cries of pain.

In the background it could hear Tom yelling at it to leave her alone, the rustling of him attempting to loosen his restraints echoed in the large room. The aliens having given it solace with its entertainment.

Moving away from her neck it focused in on her stomach, with its free hand it lifted her shirt up to her chest and eyed the exposed skin in front of it.

More shouts of fury erupted from Tom but the doppelganger continued to ignore him, it would get to him eventually.

Gliding the blade over her stomach it watched her muscles quiver, it did it again to make her skin hypersensitive then dragged the blade deep across her abdomen, eliciting a long cry of pain from Maggie who could no longer keep her screams in.

It made a few more shallow cuts along her stomach and arms but became tired of its current weapon and walked back over to the table of tools, looking them over to choose its next tool.

-Tom-

While the imposter was occupied Tom turned his head towards Maggie, her face was twisted in pain and her body was shivering from the adrenaline and pain combining together.

Her blood painted her skin and dripped to the floor, creating a growing puddle of blood beneath her.

"Maggie, Maggie!" he didn't bother trying to keep his voice lowered, the way this area was even if he whispered his words would still echo off the walls.

It took a few minutes but eventually she responded to his calls and turned her head to look at him, her eyes slitted.

"Tom?"

"Yeah, listen to me, I'm going to get us out of here okay? Just be strong and don't give in" he wanted to believe his words but he knew that their chances of getting out of here alive were a lot lower than he liked but he had to have hope.

The imposter returned, this time it was holding a screwdriver and from the way it was eyeing Tom he knew that he was next.

"Now I'm going to ask you a few questions and I want you to answer truthfully, if you don't then I'm going to have to punish you" it walked closer to him and stopped when it was standing next to his midsection.

He would never betray the 2nd Mass. it could do whatever it wanted to him but with his dying breath he would remain loyal to the 2nd Mass. and the human race.

"Where is the 2nd Mass?" it hovered the screwdriver over his shoulder, waiting for an answer.

Tom glared defiantly at the imposter who controlled his eldest son's body, he had to believe that Hal was in there somewhere, fighting to get out and had not turned against his own race.

He kept his mouth firmly shut, not saying anything.

Having taken that as his answer it made to slam the screwdriver into his body but it suddenly whipped around and stabbed the screwdriver deep into Maggie's shoulder instead. An anguished scream of agony flew from her lips as more blood seeped from her weakening body.

"No!"

It glared at him menacingly, "I told you if you didn't answer my questions there would be consequences!" it twisted the screwdriver deeper into her shoulder, the sickening sound of flesh ripping met his ears and he frantically kicked and screamed as he tried to escape his restraints.

"I'm going to ask you again, and if you piss me off Maggie here is going to lose another quart of blood!" it savagely ripped the screwdriver out and hovered it over her other shoulder.

**A/N: I know I'm mean, I felt really about doing that but Doppelganger takes no prisoners. Please review!**


	16. In The Shadows

**A/N: Sorry it took so long to update, had a bit of writer's block but I'm back. Hope you enjoy the update!**

-Doppelganger-

It sat on a pile of scrap metal, sharpening the tip of the screwdriver with the tape measurer, making it into a well defined point.

The woman was a bloody mess, various cuts and punctures littered her body and blood was pooled around her and her clothes were almost nothing but torn rags. It knew that Tom wouldn't tell it where the 2nd Mass. was, but it had received a long amount of fake locations, it knew they were fakes because Tom Mason would never betray his race that fast or easily. Until Maggie was on the brink of death it wouldn't get the truth.

After Maggie had passed out from the combination of pain and blood loss it had grown bored and had decided to sharpen its tools. It could have tortured Tom a bit but it knew that the best kind of torture it could inflict on him was to cause the other human unimaginable amounts of pain in front of him. Now it was giving Tom time to look at the pain that **he** had caused his traveling companion.

It looked up when it heard approaching footsteps and saw that it was Karen. Standing up from its post it waited for her to come to it before speaking.

"He's not giving up their location, all I got was a bunch of death threats and lies" it reported as it swiped the blade down against the screwdriver.

Karen looked over at the restrained humans, "I see Tom Mason barely has a scratch on him, the woman on the other hand looks like another one of your masterpieces"

It laughed, "got quite the set of lungs on her too, cutting up Tom would have been fun but it wouldn't have gotten me the answer your looking for. His emotions are his Achilles heel, attack that and you can go in for the kill" the screwdriver was sharpened to its liking and it admired its handiwork.

She nodded, a look of admiration crossed her features but quickly vanished into a blank canvass. It followed her as she walked over to the restrained humans, keeping back as she walked up to Tom, looking down at him with smug pride.

"Hello again Tom, I hear that you have been very uncooperative and we cannot have that" she beckoned it over and it was soon by her side, staring down at the human as well.

Tom flinched away from her touch as she stroked his hair, "What do you think of our latest acquirement?"

The human kept his mouth shut, choosing to send her murderous looks instead.

"Not feeling chatty huh? I think I can fix that" looking to it, it turned and stepped towards Maggie, the newly sharpened screwdriver in hand, turning its head at the male human then lifted the tool and was about to slam the tip down into Maggie's hand when Tom shouted out.

"Leave her the fuck alone! I swear to god if you touch her again I will rip you to shreds!" it grinned as it lowered the weapon, walking back to Karen's side.

She chuckled, "your right, that is very effective"

Leaning closer she looked right into Tom's eyes as she spoke, "your son is gone Tom, all that remains is a soulless masochistic killer who is at our beck and call"

Pulling away she tugged it along with her as she gave it new orders, "patch the woman up, she'll be of no use to us if she bleeds out then I want you to separate them and work on them individually but no killing"

It stopped walking and watched as she walked out of the factory, leaving it alone once again with its toys.

-Tom-

Tom hated the monster the aliens had put in Hal's body, he knew it wasn't Hal, that thing would never be his son. It may look like him but it wasn't. These thoughts kept running through his head as he watched it bring the first aid kit over and start patching Maggie up.

He had been surprised at first but then had the thought that it was only doing this so that she wouldn't die, it needed her for leverage over him.

As it worked on Maggie he took the time to try and figure out an escape plan, with their current predicament an escape was extremely unlikely but when the time came they needed to be prepared.

Using his limited peripheral vision he scoured the room, looking and memorizing all the exits and windows he could see and objects they could use as weapons.

It had finished bandaging Maggie up and Tom was startled when he heard the sound of the restraints being taken off. What was it doing?

He watched with morbid fascination as it released Maggie from her restraints and lugged her up from the table and carried her to another room. Tom watched as it entered a room then strained to listen as he heard the clinking of metal hitting metal.

It returned a few minutes later, leaving Maggie in the room and promptly closing the door and blocked the door with a dusty metal shelf.

Walking back over to him it picked its shirt up from the floor, slipping the garment back on then sauntered over to his side.

"I've learned a lot of things about you Tom, mainly from your eldest who for a while a there gave me such a headache, luckily I took care of that problem and the little shit hasn't made a peep since" it conversed.

Tom wanted to lunge at the imposter that was foul mouthing his son, he jerked his limbs around and it laughed at him.

"And from what I've learned I know that you would do anything to protect your boys, even kill for them which you have done on more than one occasion. Now Maggie, she's a bit of a wild child that one, but you still care for her just like you care for all of your friends. I don't know how much longer she's going to last, you saw how much blood she's lost, she'll be lucky to make it through the night. But you can help those odds, all you have to do is tell me what I want to know" it spoke calmly, looking at him patiently.

Tom remained silent for a moment then spoke, "what are you huh? an alien? a new type of harness?"

It laughed again, shaking its head, "You still don't get it! I'm not something those aliens made, I've been in the back of Hal's mind ever since he was born, I'm that little devil on your shoulder that you try not to listen to but deep down you really want to" it's face was only inches away from his own.

"And they let you out" he concluded, a new hatred for the thing in front of him emerging.

-Doppelganger-

Finally! The human was starting to get it!

Pulling away from Tom it picked up the sharpened screwdriver again and hopped up on the other table, running the blade up and down its thigh.

"Where is the 2nd Mass.?" it asked, stopping its movement.

It watched different emotions cross his features, growing more impatient the longer Tom took to answer.

"I'm going to count to five, and if you haven't given me an answer before I reach the end someone is going to have to face the consequences" it threatened, prepared to put its plan into action.

"1"

-Tom-

Tom stared it down, an internal battle of loyalties raging in his head.

-Doppelganger-

"2"

-Tom-

He knew that if it tortured Maggie again she wouldn't survive, she was a tough young woman who could take a lot of pain but everyone has their limit and she was fast approaching on hers. But what about the 2nd Mass.? If he told it where they were he would be putting everyone in danger, including his sons, could he really do that?

-Doppelganger-

"3" its patience was almost gone, it was barely restraining itself from going ahead with its next move.

-Tom-

Sweat was beading down his forehead, his stomach twisted in knots, he had the lives of hundreds in his hands, either way someone was going to get hurt, the worst part was choosing.

-Doppelganger-

"4"

-Tom-

He watched the sharpened blade as it tapped it against its thigh, he knew that its patience was wearing thin and he had only had one second left to think.

-Doppelganger-

"5!" in one fluid motion it raised the screwdriver and slammed the blade down into its thigh, not even flinching as it dug through skin.

Tom screamed at it as blood began to soak its jeans, it could feel the blood sliding down its leg and it twisted the blade in deeper, a cold calculating look on its face.

"I never said it was Maggie who would pay, what better leverage than that of one of your sons, and the best part is that I can do whatever I want to this body for however long I want. Hal's screaming in my head right now, begging for me to stop, you can end his suffering Tom, all I want is a location" it pulled the blade out of its skin and this time held the blade over its exposed forearm.

-Hal-

He screamed out in agony, clutching his thigh as he withered on the ground, begging for the pain to stop, "what the hell are you doing to me?!"

A fiery pain shot through his right arm and he shouted obscenities and screamed at the top of his lungs. He tried to get control of his breathing, trying to breathe through the pain.

It took a while but eventually he was able to get a handle on the pain and stand up on shaky legs but immediately collapsed, he was growing weaker, he was fearful that soon he wouldn't even exist.

-Tom-

He was going to crack, his reserves were crumbling and watching it inflict pain on his son was taking down all the reasons why he shouldn't tell it, but as he watched the blood spill from his son's body, he couldn't fight anymore.

Just as he was opening his mouth Karen returned, unknowingly saving him from his surrender.

Karen walked over to the imposter and tugged it off the table, leading it away from him so that they could have some semblance of privacy.

-Doppelganger-

It was furious! Tom was just about to crack, it could see it in the human's eyes and then she had to come in and set its plan five steps back.

"He was just about to give up their location, now all that work I just did will be for nothing! His walls are already building back up and now I'm going to have to start all over again! What is so damn important that it couldn't wait?" it knew that she was essentially 'in charge' but right now she was entering its domain and it would not tolerate being interrupted when it was working.

She didn't look apologetic at all, in fact she had a smile on her face.

"That won't be necessary anymore, we know where they are. They're stationed in an abandoned airfield 15 miles from here" she smirked, anticipation of the coming battle making her giddy.

"How?" it knew that the aliens had a lot of resources but it hadn't been that long since it had last spoken to her.

"While you were busy on your earlier assignment I sent out a patrol group and they managed to come across tracks that led them right to the humans new base" she said smugly, gloating at their accomplishment.

The doppelganger was violently pissed off, but it managed to keep its expression neutral.

"You didn't think I would come through" it was itching to grab her by the throat and bash her head in, being the alien's lackey got it certain privileges but it was tiring of being ordered around.

She patted it on the shoulder, making its temper flare even more, "of course we believed you could get the information but time is of the essence and we needed to get a move on things"

It didn't speak for a few moments, simply absorbing what it had been told. They didn't need it anymore, that was what it was basically being told and it was none too happy about being brushed to the side so easily. In due time it would be at the top, all it had to do was wait and then it could do whatever the hell it wanted to.

"What about these two?" since they were of no use to them anymore maybe she would let it kill them, it hadn't had a good kill in a few hours and it hated that it was coming down from its high so soon.

Torture was fun but killing was so much sweeter.

"Kill the blond, but I want Tom Mason alive, he can still be of use to us" having given it orders she left the factory, headed back to the aliens to start planning their attack.

With a new plan in mind it gripped the screwdriver and walked past Tom towards the room it had locked the female in.

It was about to get another hit of its chosen drug.

**A/N: The Doppelganger is its own boss! And with its leash taken off there's no telling what kind of trouble it will cause. Review please because it makes the doppelganger mellow out and we don't want a wound up killer on the loose. **


	17. Anthem Of Our Dying Day

-Maggie-

Her head felt like it was being weighed down by cement and her vision kept going in and out. When she had first come to, she was so tired that she could barely open her eyes and her body was vibrating with pain.

An echo of a shout bounced around her hearing and she struggled to get her bearings together, she had to get herself together and get Tom and herself out of here. She wanted to bring Hal with them but with the way he was that wasn't going to happen.

Prying her eyes open she blurrily made out that she had been brought to another room and looking down she saw that she had been bound to a chair. When she tested the strength of her restraint she moaned in pain, her entire upper body was protesting the movement but if she was going to get out of here she would have to endure the pain.

Not knowing if it could hear her she tried to keep her cries of pain muffled as she pulled some more at her restraints. It was a wasted amount of time though because she discovered that the restraints were chains.

Groaning in aggravation she took a moment to curse her luck then started to scan the room for something to help her with her predicament. The room she was in looked to be an office, there was a metal desk in the corner with an ancient computer, a message board that had dusty pieces of paper pinned to it and an old shelf that had rusted and dust covered appliances on it. One of those objects could possibly help her but she could barely move her arms and the shelf looked to be attached to the wall. Figures.

She moved around in the chair and paused when she heard the chair groan, doing it again the chair protested again and a plan started to form in her mind. She just had to be quiet. As quietly as she could she firmly planted her feet and pushed herself up, the chair rising with her hunched form as she awkwardly walked over to the closest wall and with great caution slammed the legs of the rotting chair into the wall.

Her time was limited, she didn't know how long until it would come back but she had a lot to do in a short amount of time. Maggie's body was screaming at her but she kept going, trying to block the pain out. Ramming the legs again she was thrilled when she heard a sharp crack, moving her arms around she could feel that the chair was beginning to give. It should only take one more hit. Bracing herself she ran her back into the wall, the shock ricocheting through her body but it was worth it because the chair finally crumbled and the chains slipped off her, no longer having anything to hold onto.

For a moment she stood frozen, expecting the door to burst open and it to come barreling in but when a few moments went by and nothing happened she quickly went to work.

Biting her lip in agony, she bent down and picked the line of chain up, weighing it in her hand she knew that it would do and she wrapped a small amount around her hand, then walked over to the side of the door and waited.

She didn't have to wait long.

-Doppelganger-

Riled up with fury at the disrespect it was being shown it threw the shelf aside and kicked the door in, when the dust settled its eyes narrowed when it saw that the woman was gone. Taking another step into the room it only just could smell the blood of the human when a strong force connected with the back of its head.

Stumbling forward it whipped around and smirked darkly when it saw that the woman was free, and wielding a chain.

It chuckled, "I like a woman with a little fight in her" lunging forward it tackled her to the ground, immediately having the upper hand it wrapped its hand around her throat, squeezing until it was sure her eyes would pop out.

-Maggie-

Scrambling for purchase she wrapped her hand around an object and rammed the object against the side of its face. Not expecting the blow it tumbled to the side, shaking its head to try and get rid of the disorientation.

She coughed and wheezed as she rose from the ground, picking up what looked to be a piece of the door she used some of her quickly deflating strength and plowed the board across its head. Miraculously it crumpled to the floor, unconscious.

Almost not believing her incredible luck she walked over to the form and nudged it in the side, quickly stepping back in an attack pose in case of an attack but when none came she moved quickly.

Using the adrenaline that was coursing through her she stumbled out of the room and over to Tom who looked to be amazed at her sudden appearance.

Ripping the restraints off him she didn't waste any time as she pocketed a few of the nearest things that could be used as weapons, "I managed to knock it out, I don't know how long it will stay that way so we have to hurry"

-Tom-

Not having to be told twice he pocketed a few weapons for himself then in the spur of the moment and their deep need for one, he packed the first aid kit up then whispered at Maggie that they had to go.

He offered to help her as they moved through the factory but she declined, saying that it would only slow them down.

Having scoped the place out earlier Tom knew that their best chance of exit was the door on the far side of the factory.

One of the obstacles they faced though was the big gap that was in the middle of the factory and the large opening. With every second counting Tom and Maggie bolted through the danger zone, never once looking away from their possible salvation on the other side.

Like there was a guardian angel watching over them they made it through without being caught and were in front of the door in no time. Turning the knob they found it was locked but Tom fixed that with a simple kick.

With the door down they escaped from the factory and ran as fast as they could from the area, in the background they could hear the aliens screech and this encouraged them to run faster.

-Hal-

As if it were possible more pain shot through him but this time he fought through it, determined not to let the pain win.

And it seemed he was awarded for his efforts because the doppelganger appeared before him, only instead of its usual cocky appearance it was lying on the ground, growling in aggravation.

"That Maggie is a fire cracker!" It muttered as it stood up from the ground.

It took only a second for Hal to rush it and land blow after blow into its gut and face. He was thrilled to find that each hit landed, he could finally hit it!

A downside to this though, as he quickly found out, was that it could attack also.

Grabbing his fist before he could land another punch it twisted its arm around, Hal screamed as he could swear her felt and heard a bone snap, but he wasn't too sure if broken bones were possible in his current state.

It kicked him in the back of his legs, forcing him down on his knees. Releasing his hand it wrapped an arm around his throat, not completely cutting his oxygen off but slightly.

"I guess solitary confinement hasn't tamed that fire in you yet" he struggled against its hold, he even managed to ram his elbow into its stomach but it still didn't release him.

His actions made it chuckle and it landed a hard punch into the side of his ribs, all the air whooshed out of his body and he coughed and gagged when his windpipe made contact with the arm restraining him.

"I'm going to let you in on a little secret Hal, I'm going to hunt down the 2nd Mass. and I'm going to kill every last one of them, starting with your precious family and as a gift to you, you're going to watch every second of it" it hissed in his ear.

No! If it came anywhere near his family he would kill it, hell he would even go as far to make his killing reminiscent of the doppelganger's own kills.

Stomping on its foot that gave him enough leverage to kick it in the stomach. It stumbled away and Hal took this opportunity to run at it again only this time he grabbed it by the throat and squeezed.

"You touch them and I will fucking kill you! You want to see a killer?! I'll give you a goddamn killer! I will tear your fucking head off and rip the rest of your body to shreds!" he spat in its face.

He was startled when a cracking sound ripped through the space, pausing his actions. Looking behind him he saw that a long jagged crack had appeared on the ground, a faint light spilling up from it.

With Hal distracted he in avertedly loosened his grip, and it took full advantage of this.

When Hal turned back to face it, it punched him in the face then kicked him in the gut. Hal fell to the ground, groaning in pain and clutching his midsection.

"I like your spirit Hal and I would love to stick around and see what else you've discovered about yourself but I have things I have to do. A killer's job is never done" it sighed in mockery.

Hal watched in horror and frustration as it faded from view, the same dark smile on its face was the last thing he saw before it had completely vanished.

This was the second time it had vanished in front of him but this time things were different, he had gotten a few hits in and now a jagged cut had appeared.

He didn't know how, but somehow he knew that the doppelganger was growing weaker.

-Tom-

They had been running for about an hour now when they figured that they were far enough away from the factory where they could rest.

Maggie limped over to a tree and sat down against it, sighing in relief at finally being able to rest.

Tom kneeled down in front of her and opened the kit, "we can rest here for a little while then we need to keep moving. They've probably noticed that we're gone by now and might be out looking for us" he said as he got out the antiseptic and sewing kit.

"That is if we're even worth the time" Maggie muttered as she slipped out of her leather jacket.

She was right, they were just two humans, the aliens most likely had bigger fish to fry and Tom knew what the fish was: Finding the 2nd Mass. and killing them.

"They're going after the 2nd Mass." he threaded the needle and set to work on the two gauges in her shoulders.

Maggie was silent for a moment before she spoke, "that's why they took us, they were trying to get the location out of us, but I guess they didn't need us after all" she noted, flinching slightly when the needle first entered her skin.

"What about Hal?" she suddenly asked, watching Tom's reaction to her question.

It pained him to say it, even the thought made him sick but he didn't have a choice, "we need to warn the 2nd Mass. and if we can move them in time then we need to get ready to fight, right now, without more knowledge, there isn't anything we can do for Hal"

For now he would have to let his son go again, but the moment he was able he was going to head back out and bring him home.

**A/N: Hoped you enjoyed the update, and here's a warning for the next chapter: someone will DIE, also, probably not the best time to say this but I just started college today so the updates might not be as often, I'll do the best I can though. Please Review!**


	18. To The Burial

**Sorry for the long wait, but as I stated in my other chapter I just started college and updating can be hard, also my muse likes to take long vacations without telling me. **

-Doppelganger-

When it returned to consciousness it was not surprised to find that it had company, company that was both foe and ally, though that was subject to change if its plans went according to plan.

"You allowed two **humans** to escape and the wounded one knocked you out, maybe your losing your touch" she sneered, leaning against the destroyed doorway.

It growled and covertly hid something in one of its pants pocket and pulled itself up from the ground, turning its neck to get the knots out.

"I didn't allow **anyone **to escape and if you had let me kill them earlier none of this would have happened, and besides, you didn't need my help anyway" it scoffed, stalking towards her.

She got up from the doorway and met it halfway, "I placed them in your care, trusting you to make sure shit like this didn't happen! Guess I went to the wrong person"

Little by little the ropes that were restraining it began to thread, all it needed was that final nudge.

"Since you've shown that you cannot handle two measly humans I'm placing you on watch duty, report back to me if you spot any humans" she ordered, unknowingly slamming the final nail into her coffin.

In one fluid motion it pulled the screwdriver out of its pocket and thrust the sharpened tip into her gut, blood spewed from the wound, flowing over its hand and splattering on the floor.

"I'm getting real fucking tired of you ordering me around, and I think it's time we parted ways" it twisted the blade deeper into her body, its hand almost entirely encased in her body now.

The two skitters that were in the room converged on it but it made quick work of them. Wrenching the screwdriver out of Karen's gut it whirled around and, drudging up information from Hal's memories, it slammed the blade deep into the skitters' mouth, pulling up and stabbing its brain.

It's counterpart tried to use its talon like leg to stab it in the back but it ducked and, snatching a shard of metal off the ground it pounced and slammed the shard up within its mouth.

Both skitters lay dead on the ground.

Having taken care of them it walked back over to Karen, it had made sure that the wound wasn't severe enough to kill her instantly, it wanted to lull her death out a bit. She was crawling across the floor, trying to get through the door but it stopped her attempt by stomping on her arm, twisting its foot down until it heard a bone snap. She cried out in pain, the last few whimpers muffled by her gritted teeth.

"This was a long time coming, you didn't honestly think I was going to be an obedient lackey forever did you? I have no master and you were a fool to think you could control me" it squatted down and gripped the top of her harness, its fingers digging underneath it.

Karen attempted to lash out at it but it grabbed her arm and twisted it to the right until it was at an unnatural angle. Dropping her arm it violently ripped the harness off her back. She howled in agony, her back arching off the ground and shaking violently until the movement abruptly stopped and she slumped to the ground, unmoving, dead.

Rising from the ground it dropped the harness and stared down at the corpse, it felt nothing as it viciously kicked the body in the side, flinging it across the room and colliding with a wall.

Leaving the room it was immediately met by a swarm of skitters and one skinny. It's spikes glowed and the skinny's voice filled its head.

"You brought me out to aid you in your war, Karen was getting in the way of that, that and she was an annoying little bitch" it answered the alien's question, not fearful at all of the consequences of its actions.

The alien spoke again, "your comrades tried to attack me, I merely defended myself" it smirked.

The skinny communicated something to the skitters. When it finished speaking the skitters started to move, converging on it in attack mode.

This time the skinny communicated to it, informing it that by killing three of its soldiers it was now an enemy. It had no problems with this, in fact by being on its own it could kill a whole lot more.

Seeing that the aliens were intent on killing it, it braced itself then sprinted through the skitter crowd, occasionally having to slow down and slug a few along the way until it reached the large opening.

Fleeing it didn't look back as it sprinted away from the factory, a large part of it was furious that it hadn't been able to kill more of them, its bloodlust not only limited to humans, but it knew when it was outnumbered.

When it was a ways away from the factory it stopped and looked around at its surroundings. It looked to be standing in the middle of a field, the grass long since dead.

Looking at the long expanse of land it remembered the location Karen had told it, the abandoned airfield. There would be plenty of humans there to kill, hell it could kill anyone it wanted to along the way. It knew that it was doing all the work for the aliens, but it didn't care, all it wanted was to kill.

A new mission in mind it started walking, the 2nd Mass.'s days were numbered.

-Hal-

As Hal was pulling and kicking at the opening on the floor a sudden wave of despair hit him, forcing him to stop and drop to his knees. He didn't know where or why these feelings came from but it felt like his heart was shattering all over again.

What had the Doppelganger done?

-Tom-

They had been traveling for a few hours now, going back the way they had come from. All they had to go on was that the mass. was now stationed in an abandoned airfield that was ten miles north from where the school had stood.

Since the journey had taken them about a day and a half's walk, they would have to quicken their pace to try and cut that time down, Tom didn't know when the aliens were going to head out but he knew that with their escape it was likely that they were preparing for battle now.

Familiar landmarks passed them as they walked, occasionally having to stop, although Maggie kept insisting that she was fine, to rest. With Maggie's injuries they had no choice but to take breaks.

With nighttime fast approaching they tried to get a few more miles in but when the sun finally set they were forced to stop and make camp.

Maggie propped her pack up against a tree then laid down, squirming a little until she was as comfortable as she was going to get.

Silence passed between the two before Maggie spoke.

"What do you think it was? I mean I know it wasn't Hal, there was no life in its eyes, it was soulless" her voice trailed off at the end, probably lost in memory.

Tom got a small fire going and stoked the flames a little, his voice caught in his throat, images of Hal standing over Maggie, torturing her, waged a war with the images of Hal as a young boy learning how to ride a bike, laughing and smiling, not sneering and laughing cruelly.

"You should get some rest, we'll start again at sunrise" he avoided her question and sympathetic looks as he sat in front of the fire, warming his hands.

-Doppelganger-

Blood seeped from its thigh as it walked, leaving behind a trail of bloody bread crumbs. As it walked a strange sensation suddenly overcame it, its vision swam and its head filled with cotton; blood loss, it was finally getting to it and it was forced to stop and collapse to the ground.

"Damn human body" it muttered, stretching its leg out and fingering the hole in its pants, not caring about the state of its pants it ripped the material, making the hole larger until it could inspect the wound more easily.

The wound was bubbling with blood and looked to have stretched some with all the walking it had done. Grabbing the end of its shirt it tugged and tore off a long strip of material off, revealing a small side of its skin. Wrapping the material around the wound it made sure to keep a firm grip and tied the cloth down. It was a temporary fix, it would have to make a better bandage at a later time.

Rising from the ground it continued to walk, it didn't plan on taking any rest stops, not that it needed any, to save time and get to the airfield before the aliens and those two humans, it assumed they were headed in the same direction. It was a race against the clock, who would arrive there first? One group was rushing to save the 2nd Mass. and two were planning their demise.

Question was, who would get there first?

**A/N: I know it's not that long but I promise the next one will be, and I'm also sorry for the long wait. Sorry to all who were Karen fans but I hope you will continue to read regardless. Please Review!**


	19. And The Hero Will Drown

-Doppelganger-

Its human body was becoming an annoying burden, twice now it had to stop because its vision was swimming and it could barely stand. Blood completely soaked the rag it had wrapped around it's wound and it could feel the blood slithering down its leg and collecting in its shoe.

The blood loss was still an overpowering problem, it needed to find a way to seal the wound close.

It stopped at the sound of murmuring voices, it's bloodlust called to it, begging to be fed. With a feral grin it stalked towards the voices, licking its lips at the coming bloodshed.

-Tom-

They were starving, their stomachs growled and clawed at them to feed them but they had no food to give and they hadn't spotted any game for the whole duration of their journey.

"Tom..." he heard Maggie breath behind him.

Turning around he watched as Maggie's eyes rolled into the back of her head and she began to fall, dropping what little he was carrying he rushed forward he grabbed her just in time and slowly lowered her to the ground.

"Maggie...Maggie!" he checked her pulse, it was beating rapidly along with her breathing.

Seeing that she wasn't going to wake up anytime soon he slid his arms under her legs and back then carefully rose from the ground and walked over to an area that was well sheltered by trees.

He quickly went back and grabbed the first aid kit then hurried back to her side and ripped the case open, tearing through the supplies it contained for something that would help, he wasn't a doctor though and his mind was consumed with worry for the young woman before him.

Mentally going over the symptoms she was displaying the two possibilities he came up with was infection and/or dehydration. If it was an infection there wasn't much he could do but dehydration was something that he could deal with.

Taking off his jacket he gently picked up her head and laid the bundle on the ground then carefully lowered her head back down.

There had to be a source of water somewhere and if Maggie didn't get some soon he knew that she wouldn't last much longer.

Getting up from the ground he began his search for water, his search took him only a short distance until he came across a puddle of water resting beneath a tree. Grabbing a slightly curved leaf from the ground he dipped it into the water; it didn't work as well as he would have liked but it would have to do.

Going as carefully but as quickly as possible he rushed back to Maggie and, juggling the leaf in one hand, opened her mouth and tilted her head up and carefully tipped the water into her mouth.

When all the water was gone he dropped the leaf and checked her pulse; it was still a little too fast but her breathing had drastically improved.

But she was still unconscious.

Picking the leaf back up he dashed back to the source of water then returned and repeated the process. He did this for a total of five times until the puddle had gone dry.

Checking her pulse again he was relieved to find that it was beating at a much healthier rate and her breathing was almost back to normal. What concerned him the most though, was that she was still unconscious.

Tom knew that they couldn't stay here much longer, she wouldn't survive much longer out here in her condition, he needed to get her back to Anne.

Verbally apologizing he gently lifted Maggie's head up from the ground and even more carefully lowered it back down and retrieved his jacket, under any other circumstances he would leave the jacket behind but it was growing colder each day and his body was already weak with malnutrition and his injured leg that he was more at risk at developing pneumonia and he needed all the strength he had left to get Maggie to the help she needed.

Slipping the jacket on and bracing himself he scooped Maggie back up then doing a juggling act, somehow managed to place the first aid kit in Maggie's lap and maneuvered her around until she was laying bridal style in his arms.

-Doppelganger-

It watched the small group of humans from afar. There were three of them all together, two males and one female and they looked to be in their mid thirties. But that wasn't the only thing it noticed, beside their traveling packs was a first aid kit.

One of the males walked over to a pile of sticks and collected some then returned and added them to the small fire they had going. The scene was reminiscent of a camping scene, they even had a tent! Albeit a ratty one but a tent nonetheless!

Deciding that it had watched enough it stalked out from its hiding place and made its presence known.

The humans were on high alert as soon as a stick cracked beneath its foot. Raising their weapons they trained their eyes on its approaching form.

The scene was like déjà vu, the rebellious group of humans in the crumbling city; hopefully it would end just as bloody.

Raising its hands in a false sense of surrender it approached the cautious humans, a false placating look on its face, disguising its true intentions.

"Who the hell are you?" one of the men asked.

Yep, definite déjà vu.

With its hands still raised it stopped before them about a foot away.

"My name is Hal, I've been wandering around for days now and I'm pretty badly injured, I'm just looking for some help; I don't mean you any harm" it had to work to keep a straight face at its words.

The humans were still on edge but they lowered their weapons, that mistake would cost them.

"I'm Jason, that's Eric and my sister Amy, she can patch you up and you can have something to eat but then you need to leave, we're willing to help you but we barely have enough supplies to take care of ourselves and I don't trust you"

It nodded, lowering its arms as it walked past them and approached Amy who had picked up the kit and opened it, sitting down and gesturing for it to sit beside her.

"I take it it's your leg that is injured?" she guessed as she eyed the blood soaked pant leg.

"Yeah, while I was running from some skitters I fell and a stick managed to spear itself into my thigh" it came up with a phony story as she asked it to roll up the pant leg.

The material had been torn enough and baggy enough so it was able to do as she instructed.

When she unwrapped the drenched rag it could see from her reaction to the injury that it had done a pretty good job on the wound it inflicted on the body it controlled.

"How did you get away? With this kind of wound running would almost be impossible" she asked as she tossed the rag aside and picked up a cleaner rag, dumped it into the bucket of water sitting beside her then set to work on cleaning the dried and still rapidly bleeding blood up.

"Pure luck and at a cost. When I fell down I had rolled down into a brush so I was hidden but what really saved me though was this woman who appeared out of nowhere; she had a rifle and she shot at the aliens, she managed to kill them both but not before one of them managed to get a lucky shot at her and killed her. She saved my life and I don't even know her name, the only thing I could do for her was to bury her so that animals didn't get to her, I just wish there was more I could have done" it feigned sadness, looking down at the ground and putting a somber look on.

"There wasn't anything you could have done, and you did a good thing by burying her, you put her to rest" she placated as she dabbed some antiseptic on the area. It faked sounds of pain, as that would be expected of it.

She finished applying the medicine and tossed the bloody tissue into the fire.

"Jason will you get me my sewing kit?" she asked her brother as she leaned down to get a closer look at the wound.

Her brother did as she requested and walked over to the pile of backpacks to get the needed item.

Eric stood in the background, still clutching his firearm and keeping a watchful eye on it, distrust practically emitting from his stiff stance and focused eyes.

Jason found the small kit and handed it off to Amy who accepted it with a soft thank you.

Taking out a small needle she threaded it then dipped the needle into the small bottle of antiseptic then got to work on sewing it up.

Surprisingly it didn't take too long to sew the wound up and soon she was wrapping some gauze around the newly stitched area and clipping it in place.

"There you are, now you're going to want to be careful not to rip the stitches, and when the area around the stitches start to get dry and itchy then they will probably be ready to come out" she instructed as she cleaned the needle and put the first aid and sewing kit back together.

"Thank you so much, if you hadn't had done that I might have bled out" it gushed false appraisal, purposefully putting them in a false sense of comfort.

It could hear someone huff, probably Eric, at its words, this human could prove to be a problem.

"It was no problem, we need to keep some humanity alive" she replied, standing up from the log she was sitting on. As she stood she eyed the ratty shirt it was wearing.

Out of the blue she looked to her brother who was tending to the fire, "Jason would you please give him one of your shirts? I don't feel right sending him off in that raggedy thing" she was acting like a mother, hell maybe she was one but it didn't care, all she was to it was a pathetic air-sucking parasite.

Jason muttered something under his breath as he rose from the ground and dug around in his pack then tossed it a worn out long sleeved shirt.

"Thank you" it said as it pulled the shirt on.

While it was doing this Amy noticed the spikes sticking out from the skin that was exposed when it raised its arms. She gasped, putting the two humans on alert.

"Oh my god, you were harnessed" at her words Eric and Jason raised their weapons and trained it on it once again, the charade was over it guessed.

From behind it could hear Amy attempting to run over to her brother but it lashed out as she was trying to run past it and wrapped one arm around her waist and the other over her mouth.

"I would say lower your weapons and I'll let her go but that would be a load of bullshit, you want to kill me and I really want to kill all of you so I'm just going to speed this along" before either of them could react it jerked the hand holding her mouth up and a sickening crack echoed.

Amy's eyes were forever frozen in fright, her neck was limp from the base of her neck snapping and when it released her she crumpled to the ground.

"No!" Jason screamed, raising his weapon he opened fire at it but it was already on the move and on both of them in mere seconds.

Snatching the rifle from his hands it threw the weapon into the bushes punched him across the face, toppling him to the ground and continuing to beat him. Eric came up behind it and tried to help his friend but it twirled around and took his firearm from him and shot him square in the head.

Turning back to the bloodied body beneath it, it took great pleasure in bashing the human's skull in until he wasn't recognizable. Once the human was dead it stood up and admired its work scattered around it.

A demonic smile darkened its features as it savored its kills, drenched in its victims blood it basked in the orgasmic drug surging through its body. Bending down it picked up the firearm and slung the strap over its shoulder.

The hit was good, but like any drug addict it needed more.

-Hal-

He was exhausted, his body felt like it was shutting down and he could barely move. But he continued to rip away at the floor but it seemed that no matter how much of the floor he pulled up the opening of the light never seemed to change.

The doppelganger was sucking all the life out of him, he was fading away.

As his eyes began to close another loud crack resonated through the area.

**A/N: Hey guys, sorry it took so long to update again but my schedule has been super crazy, hope you enjoyed the update! Also, in the next chapter Hal will be reuniting with someone important from his past. Please review!**


	20. Remember A Time

**So sorry it took so long to update, a lot has been happening in my life lately and I haven't had the time to write but just know that I am back and I have been able to find the time to sit down and write more, so hopefully that will mean that updates may come quicker but I am not promising anything. Thanks to all you loyal followers and all the reviews I have received so far, I would name you all but there are just too many, which is a great thing. Much love and enjoy!**

-Doppelganger-

It had been walking nonstop for what had to have been hours now, night had fallen but it didn't stop to rest or drink, its sole focus was to locate the 2nd Mass. and wipe them out.

Coming upon a river it dropped its supplies and descended into the flowing water and started to wash the blood off itself, this wasn't because of the need to feel clean but rather to not cause panic and suspicion to fall on it the moment it entered the 2nd Mass.' new territory. It didn't want to alert them of its true intentions just yet.

The water turned a foggy red and to a human would be freezing but it was in control of the human body it possessed so the cold didn't register, just as the pain didn't.

When all the blood had been washed off it climbed out of the river and rung out what water it could then picked up its supplies and continued walking towards its destination. if it continued walking at this pace it was bound to make it to the airplane hangar by morning. That was if it didn't steer off track or get distracted by the lure of the kill.

It briefly wondered how Tom and Maggie were doing, with the damage it had wrought on Maggie it knew that she would drastically slow the pair down, maybe she would even die before they reached their destination, it smiled at the thought, too bad it wouldn't be there to witness it but it could certainly fantasize about the event.

One of its favorite scenarios was that she bled out, the stitches it had made would pop one by one and her life giving blood would ooze out of her body and there was nothing Tom Mason could do but watch as his companion was surrounded by her own blood and turning a chilling white.

Just the thought made a shiver of pleasure rush down its spine.

-Tom-

His body was trembling from the exertion, it felt like he could drop at any moment but he had to fight that urge, if he gave in both he and Maggie would die. His stitches had already snapped and he could feel the blood dripping down his leg.

Maggie was still unconscious, he didn't expect her to wake up any time soon, from what he could tell she was severely dehydrated, had lost a lot of blood and in her weakened state could succumb to infection and/or hypothermia.

Without his permission his body suddenly collapsed, he groaned in pain when his bad leg went down wrong and Maggie crumpled to the ground, not reacting to the sudden change in gravity.

Knowing that he couldn't waste anymore time he tried to stand up but his leg protested, sharp waves of pain went through him and his injured leg spazzed uncontrollably so he was forced to wait, the jerkiness of his limb making his pain 100x worse than its original level.

The spasms lasted for about three minutes before eventually settling down and leaving him exhausted. His leg still hurt but he fought against the pain and picked up the first aid kit that had been tossed aside when they had gone down.

Ripping the pant leg up to the wound he saw that blood was seeping out from the gauze dressings and his leg was painted in blood. Biting his lip he unwrapped the dressings and inspected the damage. As he had suspected quite a few of his stitches had snapped so he was going to have to re-stitch himself.

They were low on their supplies of thread and he didn't know when they would reach the mass. and if Maggie's stitches were to snap it was a sure thing that she would die from the blood loss. Making his decision he picked up a roll of gauze from the kit and diligently wrapped a generous amount around the wound then pinned it down and put the kit back together.

With his focus on the Maggie's prone figure it wasn't until the crunching of a boot met his ears that he was aware of another presence, before he could react a heavy object, maybe the butt of a gun, bashed into the back of his head and he was out.

The last thought that went through his mind was that his family had the worst luck ever.

-Hal-

Coming back to consciousness he had to shield his eyes from the intense light that surrounded him, after having been in the dark for so long the sudden onslaught of light was almost too much for his sensitive eyes to take.

But what truly astounded him was the fact that he felt absolutely no pain, it was as if he hadn't gone a-round with his doppelganger, in fact...feeling his neck his eyes widened in shock when his hand made contact with skin, no spikes!

Where was he?

A familiar voice rang through the air, one that he never thought he would hear again,

"Hal"

Turning around he gasped in shock and confusion when he met the eyes of his mother. She was wearing the same thing she had been wearing the day she had died, the only difference was that they weren't bloody and there wasn't a gaping hole in her chest.

"Mom..?" he stepped forward, as if in a trance walked towards her and didn't stop until he was standing right in front of her.

Her dark brown eyes glistened with tears and she wore a sad smile. She reached up and wiped the tear that had shed without his knowledge.

No longer able to hold himself back he wrapped his arms around her, burying his face in her neck, breathing in her familiar scent of cinnamon and vanilla.

"It's okay sweetie, I'm here" she shushed him, rubbing his back in mindless circles.

Composing himself, but only the slightest, he pulled back from her embrace and took another moment to just drink her in. She was here! Standing in front of him, holding him and comforting him! Either he was dead and this was heaven or a very realistic dream or, and this one was the cruelest, a sick allusion the doppelganger had dreamed up.

Doubts began to cloud his mind, this was definitely something it would do, twist his heartstrings around then dangle the image of his mother in front of him and just as he a hole in his heart was beginning to be filled it would rip this away from him as well.

Distrustful of the vision before him he took slow calculating steps back, looking at every detail with different eyes.

"How do I know this isn't a trick? It knows everything about me, this could all be some cruel joke to distract me" when she tried to step forward him held his hand up, making her stop.

She nodded her head in understanding and planted her feet.

"I understand your wariness, and I know that any memory I give you will be worthless, but no matter how cliché it may sound look into your heart and see if I'm of _its _creation" she begged him.

He wanted to believe her, even the thought that this was all a trick threatened to crush him but giving into his own desires could be a deadly mistake.

"I want to believe so badly that its really you, but I've learned to expect the worst and my heart is a little bias" his voice quivered, not coming out as strongly as he would have liked.

His heart was at war with his mind, and the victor was unclear.

-Tom-

When he woke up he found that instead of seeing the same night sky it was now morning and his head was killing him.

The difference between the last time he had been knocked out was that when he had come to he found himself strapped down, but this time he found that he wasn't restrained at all, in fact on closer inspection he discovered that he was resting on the ground.

A sudden noise put him on alert and he whipped up from the ground, moving too fast his vision swam and he almost toppled over but was caught by a pair of arms. The owner of the arms lowered him back down, his vision stopped swimming and he could see that the person hovering over him was an older man, maybe in his 50s, and had a rugged look to him.

"You need to take it easy, took quite a bump to the head there" the man calmed him, patting his shoulder.

"Where am I?" he asked, wondering who this stranger was and how far off the trail they had taken them...Maggie!

Beginning to struggle the man tried to keep him down as gently as possible, insisting that he stay still.

"It's alright, your safe here, no one is going to harm you" he assured him, removing his hands once Tom had settled down some.

"What have you done with the woman I was traveling with?" he demanded, not trusting them for a second, after all they had clonked him on the head and brought him god knows where.

A groan met his ears and he turned his head and was surprised to find that Maggie was awake, and from the looks of it she was being treated.

"Your friend is being well taken care of, I'm a doctor you see and I was able to train my fellow traveling companions in the arts of first aid, the more advanced version. I'm sorry about the bump to the head, Lisa is pretty skittish around strangers after what happened to her" he explained.

This was almost too good to be true, they had been in desperate need of medical attention and all of a sudden a doctor appears? Something had to give.

"Well thanks for your help but we really need to get going" resisting the man's help he got up from the ground and limped over to where Maggie was being cared for.

She was wrapped in a warm cotton blanket and was nursing a soothing cup of water, her bruises were becoming more prominent but luckily a bit of color was returning to her cheeks.

"I was wondering when you were going to wake up" she chuckled as she took another sip of water.

He smiled, "Could say the same about you" he retorted.

The two share a smile then Tom got down to business.

"How are you feeling? and I don't want any soldier bullshit" he asked, making eye contact with her.

The smile left her face and she looked down at the ground, "I'm still pretty tired and my whole body is worn out but I am feeling a hell of a lot better than I was earlier, these guys really know what they're doing" she looked over at the man and woman who were standing over by a tree, giving them some privacy.

They were silent for a few moments before Tom spoke again, "listen, I know that you're hurting but we really need to get a move on, I don't know how long we've been out but we need to get back on the road" he felt bad about hurrying her along, she clearly needed the rest time but as of now that was not something that they could afford.

She nodded and, with the help from Tom, pulled herself up from the ground and walked with Tom to where their supplies was. When they reached their stuff Tom found that their first aid kit had been rifled through, normally this would have annoyed him but he was betting that they had used some of the supplies to take care of Maggie so he wasn't too mad about it.

"Sorry about taking some of your supplies, we're running low and a lot of the stuff that was in there went towards healing your friend" Tom heard the man explain behind him.

"It's okay, and thank you for helping us, in fact, why don't you come with us? We're part of a resistance that is filled with people and we have food, weapons and medical supplies; we could always use another doctor and people with medical knowledge" he looked over at the two young adults behind the man, they couldn't have been more than 20.

The man turned to look at the pair behind him and at their pleading looks he turned back to Tom, "thank you, just let us gather what supplies we can't part with and we'll be ready to go"

They were wasting time, but Tom could understand the need to pack the sentimental things, he carried with him a small worn out picture of his family with him everywhere he went, along with Ben's Harry Potter book that he had carried with him until the day Ben was back with them, and when that day came he had handed the book over to Ben and as far as he knew his son still carried it with him.

Once they had packed what they needed they all headed out, going back on the trail that Tom and Maggie had originally been traveling. As it turned out, they had only been moved to a more grassy area that was only a few feet away from where Tom had collapsed.

A lot of time had been wasted and they would need to quicken their pace to catch up on the ground they had lost.

His greatest fear was that they would arrive too late and everything and everyone he loved would be dead, he prayed that he wasn't because he didn't know how much more heart break he could take.

**A/N: I hoped you enjoyed the chapter, the next one will be longer and there will also be quick insert from Pope's POV. Please review! Also, I depend on reviews to continue writing, the next chapter is already written I'm just waiting for people to show me that they want me to continue. **


	21. Pay Your Enemy

**A/N: Hey everyone, I'm back! Also I am grateful for all the reviews I have received but I'm a little disappointed with amount my last chapter got. Don't stop reviewing, because it really brings me down and I'm not encouraged to write. So please, please review!**

-Doppelganger-

Walking through the trees it finally came to the clearing where by looking across the large field, it could see the airplane hangar and a dozen or so humans patrolling and milling around the area, it even saw a few kids playing a game of soccer. Its devilish smile widened when it recognized one of the children as Hal's little brother Matt; this was going to be one of its all- time highs!

Morphing its expression to portray exhaustion and fear it purposely stumbled forward, breathing heavily as if it had been running for a long while and even threw in a few shouts of 'Captain Weaver!', desperation coated its words but on the inside it was fantasizing about the mayhem it was about to cause.

The children stopped their game, staring at it as it came closer to the hangar. Some of the adults quickly ushered the children inside in case of danger, but Matt stayed where he was, a huge smile on his face at the sight of his 'oldest brother'.

-Matt-

It was Hal! His big brother was back!

He knew Hal could get away from the aliens, he just knew it!

"Hal!" sprinting towards his brother he met him halfway and collided into Hal, wrapping his arms around him.

"I knew you'd come back!" he exclaimed, lifting his head up to smile at his oldest sibling, his whole body glowing with happiness.

Hal smiled down at him, affectionately ruffling his moppy blond hair and smiling, "of course bro, if I wasn't here then who would kick your butt at soccer?"

"Son you are a sight for sore eyes" both looked up and saw Captain Weaver with a group of soldiers trailing behind him, including Dai, Anthony and Maggie. All were armed and on edge in case of an attack.

-Weaver-

Having heard the shouting Weaver rallied up a few of his soldiers and went to see what was going on, grabbing his own weapon in case it was a skitter attack.

Exiting the building, they walked a few feet and he froze when he saw the apparent cause of the yelling, it was Hal Mason.

From afar, he looked like the same old Hal Mason that he had known before he was taken; but they had been fooled before, and he wasn't going to put his people in danger in case this was a trick by the aliens.

Approaching the two siblings, he pasted a smile on his face, not going to get his hopes up just yet, Hal had been with the aliens for some time, they could have done something else to him and was actually one of their pawns now; Karen was a prime example of what they could do to a human being.

Getting closer to the two, he spoke, "son you are a sight for sore eyes" strapping his rifle, depending on the soldiers behind him to continue holding their weapons, he stepped forward and grabbed Hal's left forearm, firmly gripping it and bringing Hal in for a manly hug. Friendly slapping the teen on the back as well when he pulled back.

"It's good to see you again Hal" though he was acting friendly, as he had decided before, he wasn't going to completely trust the teen until he had been proven otherwise.

Hal smiled back at him, keeping a firm hand on his little brother's shoulder as Matt continued to beam with pure giddiness. Weaver hated to think what the boy would think if this all turned out to be a trap.

"Good to see you too sir, all of you" he looked at each person in turn.

-Doppelganger-

Things were going better than expected, originally it had planned an immediate attack but after some thought it decided that even juicer way to annihilate the 2nd Mass. Was to first gain their trust then betray them, the look on their faces would be priceless, especially that of Matt's. The young human was so thrilled at having his 'brother' back that the moment he gutted him the absolute shock and confusion would be like heroin.

It could tell that Weaver and a few of the soldiers were distrustful of it, that was fine, it couldn't expect to trick them all but it could try and that alone was a thrill, because with every gain of trust he got the better the slaughter would be.

Following the group back towards the hangar it noticed some of the soldiers subtly trying to look back at it, curiosity and wariness coating their eyes.

Entering the building it was met with a large crowd of people, all were shocked to see Tom's oldest again, most of them had believed that 'Hal' was lost to them, forever doomed to be an alien slave, in a way they were right.

A few people patted it on the back, telling it how happy they were see 'him' but more of them quickly ushered their children away, throwing way looks at it, the human who made the most huff about 'Hal's' apparent return was who it identified through memories as Pope.

Scanning through Hal's memory it saw that when Tom had returned from his stay with the aliens he was the first to vocally paint Tom as a traitor and possible spy for the aliens; he had demanded that Tom be locked up and interrogated.

He was going to be a problem, that it was sure of.

Pope glared at it as it walked past him, looking it up and down, probably sizing it up, it was doing the same and it was disappointed to find though this human appeared to have a muscular build it also saw through memories that Pope let his anger lead him and it could easily use that against him, goat him into a fight then take him down with one blow.

Weaver led them into a tent that had been set up, there was a table in the center with a map of Massachusetts laid out.

"Not that I'm not glad to see you Hal but how the hell did you escape? I know you're a damn fine fighter but getting away from a whole colony of them is not easy" Weaver walked around the table, stopping when he was on the other side, facing it.

A phony story began to brew in its head and it had to be sure that it didn't take too long to think of one, but then again making up lies was one of its many talents so it thought up one rather easily.

"They had me locked up in this room, there weren't any windows and the door was bolted shut. Karen would come in every so often and talk to me, telling me what they planned to do with me since I was 'defective'. Initially they had wanted to kill me but later decided that I could be used as a worker, helping the harnessed collect scrap metal and any other job they could think of" it trailed off, pretending to be lost in the memory of its 'sorrows'.

It was about to get even juicier.

"One day Karen came into the room, she kept going on and on about how I was going to be her new 'pet' and all the tricks she was going to teach me. When I thought she was distracted I lunged at her and tried and knock her unconscious but she threw me to the side like a freaking rag doll, I didn't even get a hit in" but that wasn't the best part, it internally smiled at its next few words.

Matt squeezed its hand, trying to comfort his older brother.

"As punishment she went out then returned with these three kids and a skitter, they couldn't have been more than ten and she lined them up in front of me, and it was like the day Karen and I had been taken, I knew what she was going to do before she even gave the order. She actually smiled at me as she nodded at the skitter; I kept screaming at her to stop, to punish me instead! But it was like she got some perverse pleasure from it because her smile just grew and the skitter slashed each of their throats open, they didn't even react, they collapsed to the ground and were just gone"

By now, its head was slightly down, it made its body tremble just the slightest and it conveyed just enough sadness in its pose that by the utter silence it received made it positive that they had bought its act, now it just to do the grand finale.

"You still haven't told us how you managed to save your ass" Pope interjected, standing in the background with his arms crossed against his chest.

-Pope-

He wasn't buying this bullshit! Every word out of this kid's mouth was a goddamn lie, and he would know because could bullshit with the best of them.

Something was off with the teen, it was all in the eyes, they were dark and uncaring, not at all the way they should be. Now if you asked around people would tell you that his own eyes could fit into that description, but he could plainly see the darkness that emitted from this Mason.

The darkness smoldered his way when Hal turned to face him, some survival instinct in him shuddered and his body involuntarily stepped back, warning him that this being in front of him was dangerous. But it seemed that he wasn't the only one with these thoughts, judging from the looks some of the other soldiers were giving the teen.

"After that I just snapped, my body started moving without my knowledge and I just found myself attacking Karen and I think I even killed those skitters, I can't remember, it's like my mind shut down and my body took over...when I 'woke up' I was in the woods. No clue how I got there and I just started walking" Hal finished, looking down at the floor.

While Hal was speaking he watched every twitch he made, analyzing each and every tick. The voice seemed sincere but once again it was all in the eyes, no emotions flickered through them, they remained impassive, like the light in them had died and had yet to be replaced.

-Doppelganger-

It had them now, not everyone appeared to have believed its lie, the main human being Pope, but he was distrustful by nature, Pope had been suspicious of it from the moment he laid eyes on it.

He would need to die first, it couldn't let him ruin its plans.

As thoughts of ways it could kill Pope Ben rushed into the tent and froze when he laid eyes on 'Hal'.

-Ben-

Before hearing about Hal's return Ben had been laying in Matt and his quarters, staring up at the ceiling and tracing the cracks with his eyes. There was one particularly jagged one that from the center of the ceiling all the way to the far right corner of the room, he was sure that the more cracks developed and the longer they grew they would eventually all connect and the ceiling would come crashing down.

Just yesterday a large piece of plaster in the hangar had fallen and almost crushed a little girl who had been playing underneath it, luckily her father had moved fast enough and grabbed her out of the way in the nick of time.

The hangar was falling apart, and they would have to move soon.

He had just gotten back from a scouting mission and he was exhausted, not physically, because that almost never happened ever since he had been harnessed, but mentally exhausted.

The fight that he had had with Matt still haunted him, the look on his little brother's face was a look that he never wanted to put there again, absolute sorrow.

_Weaver had told Ben that he wanted him and Dai to go out on a scouting mission to look for possible base locations they could move to._

_While he was loading his rifle Matt came in bouncing his soccer ball, Ben continued his task, not paying him any attention. _

_Since they're father and Maggie had left to go after Hal he had been spending almost all his time looking after Matt, Dr. Glass and a few of their other friends were there as well but when they were too busy Ben was left to him and at first he loved looking after his little brother, having someone depend on him like that made him feel needed but when a few days passed that neediness turned into asphyxiation. _

_He loved Matt, he loved his entire family, that was without question, but it came to a point when all that closeness went into overdrive. _

_Matt had asked him if he would play soccer with him and the other kids but he told him that he was busy. A few minutes by and Matt pleaded with him to play, he kept telling him that he was getting ready to go on a scouting mission and that he could play with him when he got back. _

_While he was talking Matt continued bouncing the ball but he lost control of the ball and it bounced up and smacked the ceiling then traveled down and collided with several objects before finally being stopped by hitting a pile of bullets that were set out and sending them scattering across the floor. _

_Both looked at the mess that surrounded them, Matt's eyes were wide with shock and his mouth was slightly open, slowly he met Ben's eyes. _

_A tidal wave of anger and frustration rushed over him and his filter failed him, "what the hell Matt?! Do you know how long it's going to take me to pick up each and every one of those bullets? Do you?! I've told you a hundred times now not to bounce your ball around in here! Why won't you just grow up already so that I don't have to constantly clean up after you!" he roared. _

_A beat of silence enveloped them, Ben's words echoing in the room. _

_It started out soft then a slow build of hiccups and whimpers shook Matt's small frame, tears dribbled down his chin and landed like punches in Ben's heart. _

_"I'm-I *hiccup* sorry *sniff*" Matt wiped his eyes but more tears quickly took their place. _

_What had he just done? he wanted to kill himself for the emotional pain he was putting his little brother, Matt was the most innocent one in the entire Mason family, the only one who hadn't killed and he was stamping on that innocent heart over an accident, one that wasn't a big deal. Overreacted was a major, major understatement. _

_"Matt-" before he could finish Matt ran out of the room, his cries echoing back and stabbing him in the heart. _

_He ran after Matt and when he found him he found Dr. Glass holding his little brother's trembling form, shushing him and rocking him back and forth. _

_As if sensing his presence Dr. Glass looked up at him and beckoned him over with her free hand. He was hesitant but she somehow managed to convey a message with her eyes that said 'he needs you'. _

_Giving in he walked over to them and put a hesitant hand on Matt's shoulder. Matt froze then cautiously turned his head to look up at him. Caution was in his eyes and Ben desperately wanted to earn his trust back. _

_"Sorry doesn't even begin to cover what I need to say to you Ben, just know that I will never, ever say or do anything to you that will cause you this much pain ever again. Your my little brother, and I love you, that will never change. You don't have to forgive me now but just know that I am going to make it up to you" tears were filling his eyes as he spoke and his voice was cracking. _

_Matt simply looked at him for a few seconds before responding. His little brother untangled himself from Dr. Glass and flung himself into Ben's arms. Ben wrapped his arms around him and lifted him up from the ground, mumbling apologies into his hair and rubbing his back. _

_Dr. Glass rose from the ground and gave him a sincere watery smile, she gave him a slight nod then headed back to her clinic. _

_He carried Matt back to their room and laid him down in his bed, pulling the covers up over him and kissing him on the head. _

_Ben turned to leave so he could finish getting ready for his scouting mission but stopped when he heard Matt's small, sleepy voice. Turning around he walked back to Matt's side and sat down on the edge of the cot. _

_"Yeah buddy?" he asked, running his hand down Matt's floppy blond hair. _

_"I miss mommy" _

_His heart stuttered, "me too Mattie, me too"_

This had all happened two days ago, though Matt had forgiven him he had yet to forgive himself, he may never find the redemption he needed to mend the hole in his heart.

Just like Matt he wished their mother was still alive, she would know exactly what to say and do to make things right again. She had been the heart of the family, the one that kept everyone going and when she had died they had had to learn to function without their most vital organ. They had slowly mended and grew closer but there was still a void that would never be filled.

His musings were interrupted by the approaching sound of thundering footsteps. Sitting up he watched as Jimmy approached, until he was standing in front of him, breathing heavily and resting his hands on his knees, bent over trying to catch his breath.

"Jimmy what is it? What's going on?" he was terrified that it was a skitter attack but he was sure that he would have sensed them if that was the case.

The gasping boy shook his head, straightening his form out he raggedly told Ben the urgent news.

"Hal...he's...here"

Eyes widening Ben sprung from his cot and bolted, not even stopping to ask him what condition he was in or where he was he just moved, he had to see for his own eyes that Hal was truly back.

Entering the main part of the hangar he saw that a few people had gathered around Weaver's tent, talking amongst themselves and throwing glances towards the tent.

Going on assumption Ben hightailed it towards the tent and quickly ducked inside. He froze when he entered and saw Hal, in the flesh, a little beaten up and dirty but he was really there.

But something was off, there was a tickling sensation at the back of his skull that just wouldn't go away and something told him it had something to do with Hal's return.

**A/N: The next chapter will be filled with a lot of important moments and I will tell you this now a character will die, review if you want to find out who**


	22. Eye For An Eye

**Hey guys, I just want to thank everyone who has reviewed this story, especially the people who calmed my nerves about people possibly no longer liking my story, you all have greatly improved my confidence and I hope everyone enjoys this chapter along with the remaining chapters, which is probably three to five chapters left, if that.**

-Tom-

They had been walking for a good hour now when they finally came to a clearing and, looking down they could see an airplane hangar, and seeing people patrolling the area he happily assumed that they had found the 2nd Mass.

"I haven't seen so many people in one place in ages" Dr. Thomas said, having exchanged names along the way as an icebreaker.

Tom walked ahead, leading the group towards what they hoped to be their salvation.

Getting closer to the hangar more and more people noticed the approaching group and were first on edge but soon recognized Tom and Maggie. Their guards lowered a little, but still a little wary of the three unknown people traveling with them.

Dai was among the people who noticed their arrival and was also the first to walk up and embrace Tom in a manly hug and carefully welcoming Maggie back as well with the delicate state she was in.

"This day has just been full of surprises Tom, first Hal shows up then-"

At hearing his son's name Tom froze, alarm racing through him.

"W-wait Hal's here?" he exchanged fearful looks with Maggie.

Dai looked at them oddly, wondering why they weren't happy with the news.

"Yeah, he showed up about a half n' hour ago, he was kind of beaten up but otherwise okay. What's going on Tom, what aren't you telling me?"

Without answering his question Tom asked one of his own, adrenaline making his whole body shake.

"Where is he?" his face was all serious, eyes dark with fear.

Dai was slightly taken aback by Tom's attitude but he answered him immediately, "he's talking with Weaver, I think Matt was in there as well"

Hearing that his youngest was with that monster Tom took off, not waiting for Maggie to catch up with him.

Tom could hear Dai's shouts behind him, asking him what was going on but he didn't have time to explain, he needed to get to the imposter before it hurt anyone.

Entering the hangar people stared on in shock as he barreled past them, only stopping shortly to ask a woman where Weaver was; she took her sweet time answering him, probably in shock over seeing Weaver's 2nd in command, but she eventually did and Tom took off in the direction she had pointed.

Approaching Weaver's command center the people who were crowded around the tent parted for him as he barged into the shelter. Disrupting the meeting that was going on inside.

Before Weaver could say anything Tom laid eyes on the imposter and stalked towards it and roughly grabbed it by the shirt collar, forcing it back until it was bending awkwardly over the table.

"You hurt them and I swear to god I will find a way to kill you" he vowed, his eyes dark with evil intent.

It smiled up at him, infuriating Tom further, he so badly wanted to kill the thing right now but his son would die as well and he'd be damned if that happened. He'd already lost so much, he couldn't lose his oldest.

Several pairs of arms wrapped around him, pulling him off of the figure beneath it and restrained him. He would have done more but he was still so weak from being without nutrition for so long and his injuries had greatly weakened him.

"What the hell is going on Tom?" Weaver demanded as he walked forward, stupidly standing in front of the imposter, leaving him vulnerable to attack.

"That is not my son. It tortured Maggie and me for information on the 2nd Mass.' location" he growled, glaring at the imposter.

He saw it pick something up from the table but Weaver was blocking his view of the object it had picked up.

-Doppelganger-

Things were not going the way it had envisioned but it could manipulate this to its advantage, and now that it thought about it could prove to be even more fun than its original plan.

Seeing that one of the soldiers had conveniently dropped their handgun, so it covertly picked the firearm up, slowly standing up while hiding the gun behind its back. Now all it had to do was wait for the perfect moment to attack.

As Tom was talking to Weaver it saw that all eyes were on Tom, listening to what he had to say, making this the opportune time. Without further ado it wrapped its arm around Weaver's neck and pulled him back so that his back was against its chest, the gun pressing into the side of the captain's skull.

"He's right, I'm not Hal. By the way, thank you so much Tom for blowing the whistle! now we can skip right to the good stuff. How about we begin by painting the walls with the dear captain's blood and brain matter? I think it'll accent your corpses quite nicely" it grinned, tightening its hold on Weaver when he tried to elbow him in the gut.

-Weaver-

He knew something was off with the teen, all his instincts telling him that Hal wasn't right and it turns out he should have trusted those feelings more and he was paying for it now.

'Never turn you back on your enemy' that was one of the golden rules he had followed even before the invasion and one of the times he should have done just that he had left himself vulnerable for attack. He was the captain of the 2nd Mass. There were hundreds of people who depended on him to keep them save, mistakes like this couldn't happen.

-Ben-

Ben had been watching the events transpire and was now waiting for the best moment to make his move, the imposter was using Weaver as a shield so he wouldn't be able to attack from the front without potentially harming Weaver, but he could see that it's right side was open for attack.

Whatever was keeping Weaver hostage, it definitely wasn't his brother, he could feel the tingling of an alien device echoing off of it, leaving a bad taste in his mouth. This thing was evil, that he knew and he needed to stop it before it could hurt anyone.

Lunging forward he rammed it to the side, both of them slamming into the side of the tent and causing the whole shelter to come tumbling down on top of them.

Pulling the material off of himself Ben rose from the ground, turning his head just in time to receive a punch in the face, he stumbled back, surprisingly dazed from the unexpected blow.

His vision going back to normal Ben faced the imposter and retaliated, managing to land a few shots to its face and chest, but it returned his shots blow for blow, never seeming to tire.

He tried to land a kick to its stomach but as he was going in for the kick it grabbed his ankle and twisted, the sound of his bone snapping rung in the air, for the first time in a long while and the pain surprisingly helped him feel human, for so long he had felt like a freak, he still caught people staring at him like he was going to snap at any moment and kill them all.

"I must admit, you have proven yourself to be quite the opponent but like in all fights there has to be a victor" dropping Ben's leg it delivered a final blow right into his gut, hurling him back with such force that the wind was knocked out of him a second time when he made contact with the concrete floor.

Several soldiers tried to rush it but none of them managed to land a hit, guns went off but each one somehow missed, the hands holding them too erratic with movement to aim properly. It tossed each of these soldiers to the side, they tumbled to the ground, some of them even died on impact from hitting their heads too hard, killing them instantly.

Picking up the gun it had dropped, it aimed the gun on Ben but before it could pull the trigger a second gun appeared, this one wielded by none other than Pope, the gun aimed directly at its head.

-Pope-

He knew the fucker was an alien spy! No goddamn way could anyone walk away from a whole colony of aliens in the kind of shape he returned in, the only way being if he was the aliens' latest bitch.

He watched as the razorback fought the spy, for a while the two were evenly matched but the spy soon gained the advantage and the razorback was down. Then followed a huge group of soldiers but he took them down in even less time than it took to take the razorback down.

Seeing that the spy now had a gun aimed on the razorback, he contemplated just letting him kill the freak, kill two birds with one stone, but decided that he didn't want to give the spy the satisfaction of another kill. Cocking his gun he walked towards the teen, his gun aimed at his head.

"Mother fucking alien spy" just as he was about to shoot the teen snatched his wrist and applied enough pressure to make him drop the gun and was swiftly punched across the face. He whirled through the air then collapsed to the ground, he could taste the blood filling his mouth from biting his cheek and the teeth that had been knocked loose.

-Doppelganger-

It laughed at the human's attempt to kill it, Pope, as he was called by many, allowed his rage to consume him, he attacked without thought, only thinking of the present instead of what would follow and that was his grave error. He didn't have a plan B when he aimed his gun at its head.

While Pope wheezed on the ground, trying to catch his breath, it didn't waste a second as it fired a bullet into his gut. Blood spewed from the wound and coated the ground with spots and lines of Pope's life force.

-Hal-

He turned his back on her, not able to look at her while he contemplated the likelihood that she wasn't his mom and was in fact a cruel joke the doppelganger had created to mess with his head.

A long blanket of silent had enveloped them for what seemed like hours, she was giving him space to think things through, but she was becoming impatient, he could tell by the humming coming from her, a habit his mom had whenever she was bored or impatient about something.

She finally broke, "I know you don't trust me, but you need to listen to what I have to say. You need to stop focusing on the light, its only there to distract you from the real way out; it's been with you the entire time, the key to your escape is the same way the doppelganger got out"

He looked at her, not believing what was coming out of her mouth. This was definitely not his mother, this was some sick allusion the doppelganger had dreamed up to distract him from finding the way out.

"Continuing the way you are is only going to give it more time to hurt those you love, I know what I'm telling you sounds insane but it's the only way" it persisted.

Turning to face the allusion he glared, rage at the doppelganger for using the image of his mother to fuck with his head.

"Cut the bullshit! You're not my mother, your an allusion it made to fuck with my head and keep me from taking back control. So you can say whatever the hell you want to but I'm not going to listen to anything you have to say" Hal moved to walk away but a sharp pain erupted in the back of his neck, forcing him to his knees.

"I can only open the door Hal, your the one who needs to walk through it" it stated, almost having to shout over the screams that were coming from Hal.

Blood trickled down his neck, his skin seemed to be splitting open by whatever the allusion was doing to him. He screamed as he drowned in the fire that was igniting deep within his body.

Grasping his neck, he could feel the warm slickness of his blood, smearing his hands in its essence but there was no mistaking the feeling of something pushing its way out, while causing him unbelievable amounts of pain. Wanting the intrusive attack to stop he reached into the opening and felt around, his fingers slipping in the flowing blood until he fingers made contact with a smooth cylindrical object.

Darkness began to creep in on him, the only light coming from the opening in his neck. He didn't know if the allusion of his mother was still there, even if it was he wouldn't spare it a glance, whatever was going on was because of it and he wasn't going to give it the satisfaction of watching him beg for mercy.

Finally, he got a solid grip on the object and pulled it out of his neck, the object turning out to have wires of sorts attached to it from the uncomfortable feeling of something snagging the tissue in his spine.

As soon as the object was out of his neck, a strong burst of energy went through him, taking his breath away. What followed was an attack on the senses; loud unidentifiable screeches attacked his hearing while a blinding white light went right for his sensitive retinas. His eyes closed themselves and his hands rose to clamp down on his ears, both reflexes going into self-defense.

-Doppelganger-

It could physically feel the moment Hal deactivated it; it was like being encased in a block of ice, the coldness seeped into its whole being and spread out to focus on all parts, its breath became shallower and it couldn't move any of its muscles. It could also feel the wetness of blood weeping down its neck, trailing down its back and staining its shirt with blood.

No longer able to retain control of the movement of its hands the gun fell and clattered onto the ground. Its body then caved in on itself, dropping to its knees it took a moment to look around, taking everything in, it knew it was being locked up again, never again could it bath in its victim's blood or watch the light leave their eyes; the only entertainment it would have from now on are memories.

Vision beginning to cloud it closed its eyes and felt the physical pull of its chains wrapping themselves around it and pulling it back into its cage, locking the door and throwing away the key.

-Tom-

With Ben cradled in his arms, groaning in pain from his injuries, Tom watched as the imposter began to die, he didn't know how he knew but he just did, call it hunch or father's intuition it didn't matter, all he knew was that Hal had beaten it, his son was returning.

-Matt-

Matt had ran to his dad's side while the imposter was down, hugging him, his body slightly shaken from fear but never once did he look away, he wanted to see that thing die, because if it died that meant Hal could come back, his big brother would return and they could be a family again.

-Ben-

Though pain was rattling his body, Ben didn't allow that to make him miss seeing that bastard go down. After taking away Hal, he wished the most painful torture imaginable on it, death would never do, death would be a blessing to the kind of pain Ben wanted it to endure, he wanted it to feel the pain it had caused all of its victims and forever feel their agony.

-Hal-

His body felt so weak, it took most of what little energy he had to open his eyes but he had to shut them again when the new lighting was too much and wait a few moments before using more energy than he had to open them once again.

When his vision had cleared, he almost couldn't breathe when he saw the people around him, namely his dad and brothers. He was startled to see Ben lying in their father's arms, badly beaten and groaning in pain. They all had their eyes on him, watching him intently.

-Tom-

He could tell the moment Hal had returned, the darkness that had been in the imposter's eyes had been wiped away and once again had emotion and life in them, Hal's eyes. His his son was very weak, his movements were sluggish and his eyes were becoming hazy.

Hal began to tip, his body unable to support itself so before he made impact Tom quickly but carefully settled Ben's head in Matt's lap then hurried forward and wrapped his arms around Hal, carefully lowering him until his head was resting in his lap.

Tears streamed down his face as the reality finally set in. Hal was back. This was really his son.

There would be struggles though, that was unavoidable, his whole family had been through so much; first Ben had been taken this his wife had died and finally Hal had been taken from them twice and imprisoned in his own body as a malignant presence assumed control of his body. But Hal wouldn't be alone, his family and friends would be there for him, helping him overcome the emotions and memories that would no doubt cloud his fragile mind but they wouldn't let him give in to those dark thoughts, they would help him create new memories.

-Hal-

Hal looked up into his father's eyes, his eyes beginning to close from the utter exhaustion that he was feeling. He tried to fight the feeling, he didn't want to close his eyes because he was afraid that if he did the doppelganger would take control again, he had just been freed, he couldn't allow that monster to escape back into the world again.

"Dad"

No longer able to fight the urge, Hal's eyes closed and he basked in the safety he felt in his father's arms.

**A/N: I really hope you enjoyed this chapter, I had been stressing and rewriting this one for a while. Hopefully I didn't let you guys down. Please review!**


	23. The Children Sing

-Tom-

The moment Hal lost consciousness Tom began to panic, his pulse point was throbbing sluggishly beneath his touch. Hal's skin was cold and clammy and his breathing was ragged.

A developing wetness on his leg caught his attention and he carefully put his hand on the wet spot and pulled his hand back to reveal that blood had stained his hand. Panicking all the more he desperately cried out for Anne, wishing she had been here the whole time.

-Anne-

Anne had been operating on a soldier who had been severely wounded during a skitter attack she hadn't been able to get to the chaos that had developed recently but the moment the soldier was sewn up, attached to an IV and given Lourdes strict instructions to make sure to watch the man for a fever or other complications she took off.

Her pace quickened when she heard Tom's anguished cry for her and she pushed through the crowd that had developed to his side. She didn't have the time to rejoice over Tom and Hal's return, seeing as Hal was clearly in pain and needed medical attention.

Hal was laying in his father's arms, she could see the film of sweat covering his forehead and the wheezes that escaped past his lips.

While focusing on Hal it was only when a loud hacking cough sounded close by did she turn towards the source and saw Pope on the ground bleeding out. It was times like this where she wished she wasn't the only doctor in the mass.

She had Hal suffering from blood loss and fighting to keep breathing and Pope bleeding out and definitely dying. Her heart was at battle with her mind, logically Pope should be her main priority right now, she had yet to examine his injuries thoroughly while Hal's case was somewhat more manageable at this point in time, from what she could tell all he needed at this point was a blood transfusion and since his Tom was here all she would need to do is have Lourdes hook up a transfusion from Tom into Hal.

With each second that passed both Hal and Pope's lives were coming closer to ending.

A sudden pressure on her shoulder startled her and she looked up to see an older man that she had never seen before.

"Sorry, didn't mean to startle you but I'm a doctor and I would like to offer my assistance, seeing as you have two high priority patients here" his voice was rough with age and wrinkles had created crevasses on his face.

Wordlessly she nodded her head, silently thanking whatever god had answered her prayer.

"Thank you, I'll take care of Hal here and if you wouldn't mind overseeing Pope's care? I don't know if you have ever experience in surgery but I believe that is going to be the case with him" she would talk with this new doctor later, right now they both had work to do.

He nodded in consent and walked over to his patient, two younger adults, a man and a woman joined him at his side and carefully lifted Pope up, turning towards Anne for directions on where to take him.

Anne turned her attention back to Tom and Hal and told him to gently lift Hal and follow her to her clinic that had been setup in a bus the mass. had discovered on their journey to the hangar.

Dai volunteered to carry Ben who was having trouble getting up, though the young teen protested he finally gave in when Tom gave him a pleading look, one that said 'just humor me'.

Matt tried to follow but Tom shot a pleading look at Anthony who led the boy away, volunteering to play a game of monopoly with him. Tom didn't want his youngest to see his older siblings in anymore pain, he had already seen too much but Tom was determined to spare him from watching his big brothers suffer further.

The group followed Anne towards the bus, the crowd parting for them as they passed. Coming upon the bus Anne called out to Lourdes that she had two more patients coming in.

As they entered the bus Lourdes returned to the bus from the tent outside that housed their recovering patients. There wasn't enough room both Hal and Pope to be treated so Anne had the new doctor lay Pope down on the table in the middle of the bus and Hal was carried out to the recovering tent and deposited on an available cot. Dai carefully set Ben down on the cot beside Hal's then left to give Anne, Tom and Hal some privacy.

Once everyone had been settled Anne begin to examine Hal for further injuries, the most obvious one was the long cut that went down the back of his neck and was very deep, to a point that it had her very concerned with possible spinal problems.

"I'm going to need you to help me get him on his stomach" Tom got on the other side and helped her carefully roll Hal over, the teen groaned in pain and Tom quickly shushed him, running his fingers through his hair and telling him that everything was going to be alright.

Lourdes hurried into the tent with a portable first aid kit and couldn't hold back the gasp at the sight of Hal's neck. Snapping out of her shocked state she handed Anne the kit and walked to her side to assist if needed.

Anne was still very much concerned with possible damage to the nerve or cord of the spine, she didn't have the equipment to fix it if there was damage so she was praying to whatever god was listening that there wasn't. She would have to wait until Hal had woken up and gained some more strength so that she could run some tests.

The best she could do right now was stitch the wound up and pray that she wasn't stitching up a spinal injury along the way.

"Lourdes I need you to start a blood transfusion, Tom will be the donor" Anne instructed as she worked on sewing up the back of Hal's neck.

The young woman dashed out of the tent to get the needed supplies, leaving the three alone, only two of which were conscious.

Ideally a blood donor was an immediate blood relative, the father for instance, and while Tom was Hal's father the condition he was currently in was definitely not ideal, but Ben was in even worse shape and Matt was too young to donate the amount that would probably be needed. He was their best option under the circumstances.

-Tom-

He hadn't let go of Hal's hand since the moment he had been laid down on the cot, all his attention was focused on his oldest. He was terrified that he would lose him again, his paternal instincts were screaming at him to do something, his son was lying on a cot possibly dying and all he was doing was standing there doing nothing!

"He's strong Tom, a fighter, just like you, he's going to get through this" Anne assured him as she tied off the stitching and bandaged the area up.

Tom didn't immediately answer her assurance, the words caught in his throat, choking him.

"I can't lose him Ann, I just can't" his voice caught and a tear streaked down his cheek, leaving a thin clean line behind on his slightly dirty face.

Anne reached out and covered the hand that was gently holding Hal's, Tom's eyes rose to meet hers and more tears streamed down.

Lourdes returned and Anne retracted her hand, going back to taking care of Hal. She had returned with a tourniquet another medical device that Tom knew was used to collect blood. Tom watched her as she set the equipment down and reached into her pocket and pulled out a wrapped hostess cupcake.

She handed Tom the wrapped snack, "you probably haven't had anything to eat in a while and we don't want you passing out because of low blood sugar" she explained as she picked the tourniquet back up and waited patiently for him to eat.

Initially Tom wanted to refuse, not wanting to waste such a rare treat but he knew Lourdes was right, he recalled a time, one that seemed like a lifetime ago, when had had to have a blood test and he hadn't eaten in a while, as soon as he stood up his vision went white and he almost fainted, luckily the nurse was able to catch him and sit him down, giving him a small cup of orange juice they kept on hand in case of situations like this.

Unwrapped the treat he only took half a second to remember the last time he had eaten a dessert like this but quickly finished the desert in three large bites. crumpling the tinfoil up into a ball he set the foil aside.

"I'm going to need you to take your coat off" Lourdes instructed. Shrugging his coat off he laid it down on his lap then rolled up his sleeves, not knowing which vein she was going to take from.

Anne continued to keep a silent watch over Hal, making sure his condition didn't descend into something worse.

Lourdes wrapped the tourniquet around his left upper arm and tested the plumpness of the most prominent vein in his forearm. Tom tried to relax his hand, when he was ready he nodded at Lourdes and she got a cotton swab from the kit and a small bottle of isopropyl alcohol and used the cotton to dab on his forearm. Inserting the needle she made sure to keep a firm grip on the stopper so that the blood didn't start to flow until she was ready.

Inserting the needle at the end of the tubing into Hal's forearm, that she had previously swabbed with alcohol she then taped both the needles down. Tom leaned forward in the chair he was sitting in, reaching out and taking Hal's hand, being careful not to snag either of the needles in their arms (1).

Tom watched each breath Hal took, counting the beats he could feel beneath his fingers, making sure that his son was still with him. He couldn't even think about his son not being there.

-Anne-

She watched Tom as she sat vigil over his son, using his free hand to rub the top of his head. Anne desperately hoped that Hal would make a full recovery, The Masons had been through so much, she knew that if Tom were to lose Hal a part of his soul would die, the same went for all his sons.

-Tom-

While he was alternating his watch over his two sons he heard footsteps approaching from behind, he wasn't surprised to turn and see that it was Matt, Anthony hot on his trail.

Matt froze at the sight of his brothers, his mouth slightly open and his eyes wide in shock.

Anthony came to a halt behind the boy and gave Tom a questioning look, "it's okay Anthony, thanks" he nodded then exited the tent.

His youngest continued to stand in place, his eyes still focused on the battered bodies of his older siblings. Tom would have gotten up and gently led him over to the two but he was connected to Hal who desperately needed his blood.

"It's okay Matt" he beckoned him over with his free hand.

-Matt-

Matt slowly walked forward and stood beside his dad, his eyes traveled from Ben back to Hal, coming back to Hal's lax form his eyes frozen on the tube that was carrying blood from his dad into Hal.

"Are Hal and Ben going to be alright?" he asked, his voice small and quivering.

-Tom-

Sometimes it surprised Tom how innocent Matt could still be, so many children had had to grow up and leave their childhoods behind, many only a year or two older than Matt, but somehow his youngest managed to retain some of that childlike innocence that made Tom cherish every memory he had of their lives before the invasion.

Using his free hand he placed his hand on Matt's shoulder, rubbing the area in a calming manner.

"Of course they are buddy, they just need a little time to rest and get their strength back" a soft groan caused their heads to turn and they saw Matt opening his eyes, the short nap he had taken giving him some strength back.

Matt went to Ben's side and carefully hugged him, Ben only winced slightly but he hugged his brother back.

While holding his little brother Ben and Tom locked eyes, Ben's eyes lowered to where Hal was resting then reverted back to Tom, silently asking him how Hal was doing.

Tom didn't want to tell him that he honestly didn't know, and that terrified him. Hal was in bad shape, anyone could see that and the worst part was the not knowing. Losing your child is a parent's worst nightmare, he had already had to live through that nightmare when Ben had been taken and his heart had only begun to heal when Hal had been snatched from him as well. And now he ran the risk of losing Hal to a place that he could not follow, he prayed that Hal would pull through.

**1.) This idea was taken from a scene in **_**The Sarah Connor Chronicles**_** where John is giving blood to his recently discovered uncle Derek who was dying from a bullet wound. I in no way have any professional medical knowledge, I just liked the idea and decided to go with it. By the way this awesome show never should have been canceled! Darn Summer Glau curse! She is a phenomenal actress and is always in awesome shows but they always get canceled, why cruel world!**

**A/N: And now that my rant is over I shall now appeal to whoever is still reading to review, for the love of Summer review! I'm desperate! **


	24. Apathy Is A Deathwish

**Sorry it took so long to update, a play I was in just recently ended so now I have more time on my hands, but I have always entered finals week so I may not have as much free time as I would like but my final schedule is not that crazy so I'm not too worried.**

-Tom-

He had been sitting vigil over Hal now for the past day and a half now, his color had returned but the fever was holding on and he had yet to wake up. Anne had been treating him for the infections that had developed in the wounds she had uncovered to the best of her ability and their limited resources but Hal's condition was not improving as fast as they would have liked.

Anne, Lourdes and Dr. Thomas were doing everything they could but it was mainly up to Hal now.

-Hal-

Feverish dreams invaded Hal's mind, or the more likely term was nightmarish memories, he could see himself, or rather the doppelganger, savagely murdering groups of people, blood spattering all over his body and the worst part was that he could feel the thrill the doppelganger got off of its kills.

The worst of them all though was the memories of the doppelganger torturing Maggie and his dad, the images made him sick to his stomach and made him hate himself even more than he already did. Logically he knew that it hadn't been him that had murdered and tortured all those people but the guilt and self-hatred was all the same, he should have fought harder, found a way out sooner, all the what ifs in the world blended around in his thoughts.

He was drowning in the agony and despair for the victims of the doppelganger, he knew all of their deaths were painful, he could see the reflection of the doppelganger in their eyes as the life was taken from them.

"We're right back where we started, aren't we Hal?" a chilling voice stated from behind him.

Hal didn't want to turn to confirm his suspicions of whom the voice belonged to but he knew that if he didn't the speaker would reveal themselves.

Gathering his courage he turned and was confronted with the image of the doppelganger. The same devilish smirk marred its features and evil resonated off of it.

"I thought I would give you a little update on what's been going on in the outside world, just so you wouldn't be out of the loop" it mocked as it walked towards him.

He stood completely still, his mind was screaming at him to attack, to kill this psychotic, disgusting thing in front of him but his body was frozen, the only movement he could accomplish was blinking.

"Oh come now, nothing to say? No death threats of other obscenities?" it continued to goat him as it circled his still form, smiling merrily at the mental anguish it was causing.

Stopping in front of him, it unnerved him by staring right into his eyes.

"How about I show you what my plans were for your sweet little family" it whispered, watching his face for a reaction.

At the mention of his family Hal's body went back online and he rammed his body into it, forcing it back into a solid sort of wall. The doppelganger laughed, obviously getting the reaction it wanted out of him.

"Figured that would get ya, you know I think it's time for a little show and tell" in one fluid motion it wrapped its hand around his throat, not enough to cut off his oxygen supply but to keep him rooted to the spot.

His mind was invaded by horrifying and graphic images of his whole family being savagely murdered by the doppelganger, and there wasn't just one image for each of their deaths there was hundreds upon hundreds of different ways it had thought up to murder them.

This maybe went on for a few minutes, or it could have been hours, time didn't exist as he was being forced to watch the sadistic plans the doppelganger had come up with. Finally it released him, gasping for air he stumbled away from it, he could feel tears falling down his face, if that was even possible.

"I don't have to be out in the real world to destroy everything you love Hal, I can do that from right in here. I might be chained down but I can still haunt you" he turned to face the monster, wiping the thought up tears from his cheeks.

Making eye contact with the doppelganger it was as if being punched in the gut.

Eyes snapping open, he gasped in air, his body thrashing about from his mind not recognizing the area he had woken up in.

-Anne-

Anne had been watching over another one of her patients when she heard the frightened movements of Hal from his cot. Tom was trying to hold him down, giving him reassurances that he was safe now but Hal was too lost in his own scared thoughts to hear him.

Rushing over to the two Anne gently nudged Tom to the side and placed a hand on Hal's shoulder.

"Hal, listen to my voice, its Dr. Glass. Your with the 2nd Mass. now, your safe. There's nothing to be afraid of" she said in a soothing voice, rubbing soothing circles into the skin below her hand.

He continued to thrash about, not responding to her methods of calming him down.

Seeing that she was running out of operations she went to her next method. Walking over to a bag she dug around until she found what she was looking for. Her fingers wrapping around the object she pulled the shot of sedative out, finding these were very rare and they were on short supply of them but she could see that Hal really needed it right now.

"I'm going to need you to keep him in place, I don't want to accidentally nick a vein" she instructed, taking the cap off the syringe.

nodding his head Tom walked around to the other side and placed his hands on Hal's shoulder,

"What is that?" he had to readjust his hold when Hal gave a particularly violent jerk that made Tom fear that he may give himself a concussion.

"A simply sedative, I don't want him to accidentally open his stitches or hurt himself further" she replied, placing her own hand on Hal's shoulder to immobilize him further she injected the medication into him.

-Tom-

Tom watched as Anne gave Hal the sedative. She continued to maintain contact with his son until he settled down, it took a few minutes but eventually Hal was lying comfortably on the cot.

Anne checked Hal's pulse and by the expression on her face she was pleased with what she found, she then moved on to checking his temperature and her demeanor remained the same.

Hal's condition was improving.

"How is he Anne?" but he needed to ask anyway, his fatherly instincts not letting him relax until he heard the words come from her.

She turned to him and a soft smile lit up her face, "his temperature is going down and his heart rate is at a much healthier level"

He breathed a sigh of relief at her words. He collapsed into the chair he had been occupying and ran a hand down his weary face. Worry lines that had carved themselves into his skin smoothed out and a great weight seemed to be lifted from his shoulders.

Finally, good news. After so long with days that were mainly filled with sorrow and desperation to survive they needed good news, and he hoped that this wasn't just a fluke in the universe.

Leaning forward he once again took Hal's hand and was prepared to continue watching over Hal for however long it would take until he woke up but his vigilance was interrupted by a hand on his shoulder.

Turning his head he found Lourdes holding a tray with a bowl of oatmeal and a tin cup of water.

"I figured it would be pointless to try and get you to leave his side to get something to eat so I brought the food to you. A scouting group found a whole crate filled with oatmeal, should last us a while" she commented, handing him the tray.

Reluctantly letting go of Hal's hand he accepted the tray and thanked her.

"How's he doing?" she asked as she walked around to the other side, keeping a steady gaze on the prone figure in the cot.

Tom took a bite of the oatmeal. The instant the oatmeal hit his tongue he almost moaned in ecstasy. Having been for so long without actual food had taken a great toll on his strength and he had to control himself so that he didn't revert to a starving animal.

"Anne says he doing a lot better, the only thing that's stopping me from being elated is that he's still unconscious. She had to sedate him to stop him from hurting himself" talking about it brought back his fears and the slight happiness he had been feeling was going away.

What if something was seriously wrong with Hal that they couldn't see? What if they were only making it worse? More and more thoughts filled his mind and stabbed away at his heart.

Maybe it had something to do with his brain, what if it was a tumor or-

He hadn't realized he had been saying his worries aloud until he was startled out of his consuming fears by Anne who had somehow appeared in front of him and was trying to calm him.

"-worry, we're going to do everything we can for him, you just need to calm down. You're having a panic attack Tom, just take deep breaths and focus on me" she coached.

But he continued to panic, his fears threatened to pull him back under. It felt like his throat was closing up, he couldn't breathe! And his heart was going to burst from his chest. He was dying! His body was shutting down on him, oh god he couldn't die, he had to take care of his sons, they needed him!

Suddenly a life preserve was tossed his way, Anne had taken his tightened, trembling hand and had managed to unwrap the death grip he had. Placing his hand on the center of her chest she continued to try and calm him.

"Listen to my voice Tom, you're not dying, you're just having a panic attack. We need to slow your breathing down okay? Now I want you to focus on my breathing and breath along with me okay? Just follow me" she coached.

She took a long relaxed intake of air then released it just as deliberately.

The haze that had developed in his vision went away and he was able to look into her eyes, the thoughts that had been wreaking havoc in his mind were slowly starting to fade away.

In...out...in...out...

His breathing finally started to even out and with it his heart rate, but that was still taking a little while to go back down to normal. As panic attacks often do, a surge of adrenaline had been shot through him and his body needed to calm itself down, and the heart had bared a great bit of the attack.

Finally his breathing was back to normal, the beat of his heart was almost there as well. He pulled his hand back and rested his elbows on his knees, resting his face in his palms.

"Thank you" he breathed, staring down at the floor, feeling slightly embarrassed at what had occurred.

He was forced to look up when Anne lifted his head up by the chin, her face filled with nothing but understanding and compassion.

"There's no need to thank me, or to feel embarrassed" she added, surprising Tom with her intuition.

Her smiled widened at his perplexed look.

"You're not the only person to have a panic attack under these circumstances, it happens to a lot of people and can be very nerve wracking to deal with" she moved her hand up and cupped his cheek, rubbing his cheekbone that was a lot more prominent then before. He needed to get some more food into him.

Placing his hand over hers, he leaned his head and kissed her palm, relishing in the calmness her presence provided.

"I don't want to know what I would do without you" he said, looking up at her, admiration and love in his eyes for the woman before him.

Though neither had declared their love for the other, it was clear to almost anyone who saw them together that the two were deeply in love with each. It was the kind of love that no words had to be exchanged. They both just knew.

Leaning down Anne met him in a deep kiss, they're hands lowering to entwine at their sides. Completely forgetting where they were.

-Lourdes-

She tried not to watch as the two engaged in a kiss, in no way was she trying to be a voyeur, but she couldn't help the quick glances their way and the blush that reddened her cheeks. She was happy for them, with all of the despair that had been wrought upon them they deserved some happiness, she herself was hopeful that she would find the kind of love that they shared for one another.

For awhile she had had feelings for Hal, whenever he was around her heart would speed up and her words would jumble up in her mouth. A crush, is what most people would call it but she had adamantly believed that it was love. She couldn't think straight whenever he was near her and most of her dreams and thoughts revolved around him.

But it became very clear to her that Hal saw her as nothing more than a friend. When Karen had still been with them he would always find any excuse to have physical contact with her and the way his eyes lit up whenever Karen was around was a sure fact that he had deep feelings for her. And what sealed the deal of her doomed love was that Karen returned those feelings and became his girlfriend, something that Lourdes had wished she could be.

Realizing that her and Hal would most likely never be together she gathered up all her feelings and locked them away, respecting the fact that Karen and Hal were together. She wasn't the type of person who would try and get between love, if it wasn't meant to be then she had to accept that. If she couldn't have Hal in a romantic way she would readily accept his friendship.

Wishing to give the two some semblance of privacy, although there was still the matter of the other patients in the tent, she discretely left, a smile on her face for the love Tom and Anne shared.

-Tom-

Coming up for air they separated and rested their foreheads against one another's, breathing in deeply.

"I missed you" he said, rubbing circles in the hand he still held.

Her mouth curved, "I missed you too, I'm just glad you came back to me in one piece" she murmured.

The moment was ruined by the sound of a throat clearing. He stood up from the chair, Anne backing away to give him room as they faced the direction the sound had come from.

Captain Weaver and Dr. Thomas, both couldn't hide the smile on their faces but there was a note of seriousness to them as well.

"I know that this isn't the best time but I need Tom to come with me so that we can discuss what happened when the skitters had you and Maggie and any other information you can give me" he requested, his voice all business.

Tom was reluctant to leave his son but Anne assured him that he would be fine, and if anything happened she would alert him immediately. Seeing that he might as well get the debriefing over with now he followed Weaver out of the tent and back towards the repaired command center.

-Anne-

When Tom and Weaver were gone Dr. Thomas, who's name she had learned not long ago, walked closer to her.

"I've managed to find and remove the bullet from Pope but as almost all bullet wounds go there was some internal damage, it's nothing too severe but I do require some assistance in repairing the damage that was done" he requested, she could see that there was quite a few splashes of blood that had made it onto his shirt and pants.

Pope had lost a lot of blood, that was clear, and was incredibly lucky that the internal damage was not so severe.

"Of course" she followed the other doctor from the tent and back over to the med van to assist him.

-Hal-

Several hours had gone by when Hal returned to consciousness, his vision was fuzzy and his head felt like cotton was in it and he felt as if all the energy had been sucked out of him.

His vision improving he was surprised to find that his mobility was as well. Looking around at his surroundings he was at first discomforted to find that he didn't recognize where he was but slowly he began to realize that he was safe, he was home.

Rising from his cot he felt a tug in his arm and he looked down to find that he was attached to an IV. Knowing, somehow, that he no longer needed the antibiotic, he carefully pulled the needle out. Free from the IV he stood up and almost sat back down at the head rush, getting his bearings he got up at a much slower speed and was pleased when the floor stayed where it was.

Carefully walking towards the opening in the tent he was almost blinded by the sudden onslaught of light. Taking a moment to adjust to the change he continued his journey, not entirely sure where he was headed.

Accidentally bumping into someone he apologized but was given a strange look from the person he had bumped into, the look was akin to fear. Looking down at himself he saw that the upper part of his body was bare and there was small streaks of blood painting his body. Knowing that he shouldn't walk around streaked in blood he changed his question from where his dad was to where the bathroom was, or what was being used as one.

The man he had bumped into was silent for a moment before pointing in the direction, his eyes were locked on Hal's movements. At first Hal thought he was staring at him so intently because of his current state but a trigger of sorts went off in his head and he was shown an image of him brutally murdering soldiers and even some civilians in the 2nd Mass.

No, no that wasn't him, it was the doppelganger, he would never do something like that! But a voice in the back of his head disagreed, reminding him of the doppelganger's words

" _I know what's floating around in that head of yours and it's no candy land! C'mon I'm a part of you, I am the way I am because somewhere inside of you is a monster"_

What if it was right, people say that there is darkness inside of all of us, but is his really that twisted?

Not taking the time to thank the man Hal hurried in the direction he had pointed and took a few moments to locate his destination but finally he found the bathroom and dashed inside, slamming and locking the door behind him.

Checking to make sure that he was alone he then went over to the sink and saw the cups of water that had been placed there, the tap not working. Dipping his hand into the cup he worked on washing the blood off his body, vigorously rubbing at the haunting reminder of the blood that it (a voice in his head retorting with a they) had spilt.

When the cup was empty Hal took the moment to look at himself in the mirror. Pink water that had been contaminated with blood dripped off his face and onto the linoleum floor. His eyes were haunted and his face was pale with fear. Planting his hands on the counter he leaned in to take a closer look, studying every feature of his upper body.

There were various stitches all over his torso, flashes of memories came to him as to how he had acquired them, he visibly flinched away at the lives that he watched be taken. Looking back at the mirror, he drew his eyes up until he was looking directly into his own, but these eyes were not his, and the being looking back at him was not him either.

It was the doppelganger.

It had its trademark demonic smirk on, sadistic merriment filling its eyes.

"You can't escape me Hal, I'll always be here" it started to laugh, its laughter infuriated him. How dare that sonuvabitch mock him!

Curling his fist he pulled it back and with a loud primal roar of fury he smashed his fist into the mirror, shattering the glass and causing shards to imbed themselves into his flesh.

But the doppelganger continued to laugh, its laughter echoed around in his head, driving him mad.

**A/N: I hope you enjoyed the update, once again sorry it took so long to update. Please review, I write/update on reviews so if you want me to keep writing you need to review!**


	25. Your Unsung Friend

**I'm so sorry I took so long to update, I have been dealing with writer's block lately and I will not promise that I will suffer from another bout of it but I can promise that I will return and give you guys an update as soon as I can. **

-Hal-

He staggered back until his back met wall, gravity pushing his body down and not relenting making his body believe that it was being weighed down by a thousand tons of cement.

The doppelganger's ghoulish laughter continued to taunt him, along with whispers of all the sorrow he (it! He tried and was failing to tell himself) had caused. Pulling his legs up to his chest, he clamped his hands down over his ears, but the laughter was coming from within the deep recesses of his mind and covering his ears was only encasing its taunting voice and laughter.

"Shut up!"

"But we have so much more to discuss Hal, so much more..." its voice was condescendingly soft, almost like a parent comforting a child.

Hal pinched his eyes shut, banging his head against the wall behind him in a desperate attempt to shut its voice out.

"And we've only just begun"

Snapping his eyes open Hal couldn't hold back the scream that burst from him. The Doppelganger was sitting in front of him, its face only a breath away from his own. It had a cruel smile and malicious laughter in its eyes.

"No!"

-Tom-

Weaver had had him go over his entrapment with the aliens what felt like a dozen times now. He knew that the captain was doing this because he needed to know what the aliens were planning, but that didn't mean that he wasn't irritated and desperate to get back to his son's bedside.

"…then Maggie released me from my restraints and we fled from the warehouse and along the way I was knocked unconscious by the young woman that was traveling with Dr. Thomas and when I gained consciousness I found Maggie and myself being taken care of by Dr. Thomas and his two traveling companions. They traveled with us and finally we found the 2nd Mass.' New location" he recited as if from a teleprompter.

Just as Weaver was opening his mouth Matt ran into the tent, out of breath and wide-eyed with fear. Running over to his dad, he stopped in front of him and rushed through his words. Not understanding a word that came out of the boy's mouth, he asked Matt to repeat himself.

Taking a deep breath Matt started over again, "Hal woke up and he's locked himself in the bathroom. He's been screaming and no one can get him out" he said all in one breath, but at a much slower speed.

As soon as the words registered in his mind Tom's face drained of color.

Without a word, Tom raced from the tent and it was only when he was standing in the middle of the hangar that he realized he had no idea where the bathroom was, but looking around he was able to surmise that it was located where a group of people had gathered. It was amazing how people seemed to gather when a disaster was occurring, no matter how potentially dangerous the situation may be.

Pushing people out of his way he stopped in front of the door, the screams coming from inside twisted his insides and fried his brain with worry and fear. The crowd surrounding him was talking loudly, throwing ideas around about why Hal was in there; a man that was standing right behind him said one theory that made his blood boil with rage.

"I always knew one of them Masons would go bat-shit crazy, it was only a matter of time. I ain't surprised one bit"

Turning on the man Tom lashed out and punched the bastard across the jaw, making the man stumble back, clutching the afflicted area that was already starting to swell. The crowd immediately silenced, their attention now captured by another potentially dangerous situation: a father and a man who dared to verbally insult not only one of his children but his whole family. Most already knew who the victor would be but they wanted to stay and watch the outcome for the pure fact that it was something to watch.

Getting up, the man spit blood and wiped the blood that had dribbled down his chin from his bleeding gums. Lunging, the man body slammed Tom into the floor, raining blows down all over Tom's body and face.

His body rattled with pain, still sore and weak from the injuries he had sustained on his mission to save Hal but that wouldn't stop him from savagely ripping out this guy's throat! Managing to latch on to one of the man's wrists Tom used the appendage to slam back into the man's face. Dazed the man fell back, clutching his sluggishly bleeding nose that was miraculously not broken but was still severely injured.

Gaining the advantage Tom stood up on shaky legs and stalking over to the disoriented man and punched him in the gut then while he was bent over, gasping for breath, Tom grabbed both sides of his face and kneed him in the head, effectively knocking him out.

Even with the knowledge that the man wouldn't getting back up anytime soon Tom savagely kicked the unmoving body. The primal rage that had filled him was not satisfied though, his paternal instincts wanted this man to die for the words he dared to utter. Landing another blow to the unconscious man the humanly father turned into a protective, fiery animal and the world around him dissolved and that one hit turned into a brutal assault.

It wasn't until he was physically pulled away from the man that he came back to his senses, looking down he saw that the man he had assaulted was covered with welts, cuts and bruises, blood seeped from his wounds and he gasped through possibly a few cracked ribs.

Dr. Thomas was tending to the man, checking over his injuries and giving orders to his two companions on what needed to be treated. Anne meanwhile was standing in front of Tom, her palm resting on his cheek. Turning his head, he saw that Dai and Anthony had restrained him. Their hold on him unrelenting until they were sure that he wasn't going to attack the unconscious man again.

"You need to calm down Tom, Hal needs you right now" as if to prove her point another heart wrenching scream came from behind the door, followed by muffled sounds of crying.

Taking in a few deep breaths he started to calm his racing heart, adrenaline was still pumping through him but he was able to control himself. Making eye contact with Anne, he showed her without words his apology and sorrow for what he had done. While it was true that the man had no right to say what he did beating him up wasn't going to solve anything; even if it did give him some satisfaction to draw blood and cause the asshole pain, it was still a stupid thing to do. Hal needed him and here he was beating up a schoolyard bully.

When Anne was satisfied that he had calmed down somewhat she told Dai and Anthony to let him go. Now that he was calm Tom could see that the crowd had dispersed, which had probably occurred when he had gone primal, maybe in fear that his rage would turn on them.

Turning his back to them, he walked to the door and pressed his ear against the cold metal, he listened to the heart wrenching sobs and pleas for mercy and forgiveness coming from his son. It was like a dagger to his heart.

Worry overriding common sense he tried the doorknob, it was locked, which was not a surprise given that had it been open people would have been in there staring at Hal like he was a freak on display. The image he gave himself made him shiver in disgust, bringing back memories of when Hal had been strapped down to a chair in that sport locker that Weaver had used as a holding cell for prisoners.

"Hal, can you hear me? Its dad, can you open door?" he was trying to be calm, it would do Hal no good if Tom were to lose his mind again but he was very skeptical that simply asking for his son to open the door was really going to do the trick. He probably couldn't even hear him, but he was hoping that maybe his reassuring voice would let him know that he wasn't alone, that there were people who were trying to help him.

Silence met his ears, and this terrified him most of all. Worst-case scenarios flew through his mind as he sank into the coldness that the silence portrayed.

Frantically looking around he laid eyes on the rusted fire extinguisher that hung by a hook on the near left wall. Thinking quickly he dashed past the three people that stood around him and grabbed the extinguisher off the wall. Rushing back over he raised the object and bashed it down on the knob, every time the extinguisher made contact with the metal knob a metal clang would echo and the bottom of the object and the knob were beginning to bend inwards.

His arm was beginning to tire but finally with one last giant heave he brought the extinguisher down and the knob clattered to the floor, rolling around in a circle then finally coming to a stop in front of Dai's feet. Tossing the bent extinguisher aside Tom practically kicked down the door and flew into the room, halting in shock at the sight that met him.

-Hal-

Scrambling up from the floor Hal tried to put some more distance between him and the doppelganger but it didn't even have to move to creep up on him, all it had to do was follow him with his heartless eyes and cruel smile.

"You do know that breaking mirror gives you seven years of bad luck right? Well along with that I'm also giving you an eternity of nightmares and my own personal home videos of all the fun I had out in the real world" it taunted, stepping to Hal who found himself once again backed up into a wall.

It came closer until it was chest to chest with him, or at least it appeared that they were chest to chest, he couldn't actually feel any pressure but his mind didn't comprehend that.

"How about another precious memory? I think you'll find this one very tasteful"

Before Hal could scream he was sucked into another memory, now he was watching as it toyed with a group of people that were camping out in the woods, there were two men and one woman. The woman was treating the wounds that it had gotten in its fight with the aliens. He could tell that the two men didn't trust it, the only reason they hadn't chased it away was because the woman had insisted that she treat its wounds, a fatal error that would cost all of them their lives.

As it was pulling on the shirt that had been given to it the atmosphere changed when Hal saw one of the men lay eyes on its spikes. That was when the blood was drawn.

One by one, it killed them, each one more gruesome then the last, but the one that really stayed with him was the woman's death. She had been trying to help the doppelganger, bandaging it up and offering it food and clothing, and the doppelganger had still murdered her. The doppelganger truly had no heart or empathy.

Forcibly sucked from the memory Hal found himself back in the bathroom, the doppelganger still stood in front of him, laughter in its eyes at the obvious fear and misery it was causing him.

"Why are you doing this?" he whispered, staring up at it from the floor where he had slid down the wall.

The doppelganger smirked, "because it's fun!"

It walked away from him and wandered around the room, stepping onto the glass that was spattered with drops of Hal's blood.

Hal watched it, he was giving up, and resignation to his nightmare-filled future deadened his eyes.

"Don't zone out on me yet Hal, I have a new trick I want to show you" looking up Hal watched as its features began to shift, its size meshing and stretching over a new form until a new figure stood in front of him.

It was Matt. He was wearing the same clothing that Hal had last seen him in, only they were tattered and torn in various places and dirt smudged his young face. His face was drenched in sadness and anger.

"What did I do wrong Hal, why did you hurt me?" his voice was soft and trembled with emotion.

Mentally Hal knew that this was the doppelganger, not his littlest brother, but emotionally he was destroyed. His love for his family was his biggest weakness and the doppelganger knew this.

"I'm so sorry Mattie, I love you so much," he whimpered as he pushed himself up from the floor, stumbling over to Matt and falling to his knees in front of him so that they were face to face.

"Then why did you do this?" he asked, his innocence making him seem so pure, Hal hated how his presence tainted Matt's angelic aura.

Tears fell down his face as he clutched at Matt's tattered shirt, his body trembling with sorrow and self-hatred.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, please forgive me" he buried his face into Matt's stomach, wrapping his arms around his slender frame and cried, apologies and pleas for forgiveness muffled by the fabric.

Something wasn't right, Matt's body was cold, almost freezing and there was something wet running down his face. Pulling back, he looked up and screamed, stumbling away from the sight in front of him.

Blood was running from his eyes and, when he opened his mouth, blood seeped down as well. His whole body was becoming drenched in his own blood and turning ashen white.

He watched in transfixed horror as a puddle of blood formed around Matt, the ruby red tentacles slithered towards him, seemingly alive as they wrapped around his arms and legs, drawing him in.

Matt's face held no emotion as Hal was lifted into the air, more bloody tentacles growing and move up his body to wrap around his throat, not enough pressure being applied to cut off his oxygen but enough to keep him in place or risk choking himself.

"You killed me Hal, you did this to me" Matt continued to speak in a soft tone, which was so much worse than the anger or sadness he could have conveyed.

"I never wanted to hurt you, I love you Mattie, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry" he repeated over and over again he didn't have the gall to look him in the eye, too ashamed of himself to face what he had done.

Hal was suddenly released and he tumbled to the floor, crying out in pain when he hit his head on the floor, his vision going white for a few seconds. He curled up into a ball and muttered over and over again that he was sorry. He didn't see Matt change back into the doppelganger, his mind was too far gone in his grief.

The doppelganger walked over to him, "don't check out on me yet Hal, there are still plenty of other people who would like to talk with you"

He did hear the doppelganger's words but they didn't register with him, he was still swimming through the grief and self-hatred that Matt had wrought on him, he had killed his little brother! He was supposed to protect him and instead, his own hands, hands that were responsible for so much destruction, had killed him.

Before the doppelganger was able to bring out more of the people he had hurt the door to the bathroom was busted down, but Hal was too far gone to see that he had more company.

-Tom-

Hal was on the floor, in the fetal position, rocking his body back and forth, his pupils blown wide and muttering words under his breath that he couldn't understand.

Rushing to his side he put his hand on Hal's shoulder.

"Hal, come on Hal, talk to me" he pleaded, restraining himself from shaking Hal in an attempt to snap him out of whatever was plaguing his mind.

Anne was at his side in a second flat and gently pushed Tom out of the way, she carefully lifted his eyelid open a little higher.

-Anne-

His eyes were far away, seeing something that only he could see, all the muscles in his body were coiled up and his breaths were very shallow. There were many other symptoms but she could see enough to deduce to Hal had gone into shock. She needed to get him back to the medical tent.

"He's gone into shock. Tom I need you to carefully pick Hal up and bring him back to the medical tent, and try not to jerk him about too much"

Hal was in a very delicate state right now, unfortunately she didn't have a very extensive amount of knowledge on dealing with shock but she was hoping that maybe Dr. Thomas had more experience in this area.

-Tom-

His son was so stiff when he picked him up, but his body began to spastically jerk about, he screamed and pleaded to an invisible being, breaking his heart even more. What terrors was Hal being subjected to?

Carrying his thrashing son out of the bathroom he almost dropped him a few times after a few particularly jerky movements but he was thankfully able to get to the tent and deposit Hal onto a cot.

Anne was right behind him and quickly injected him with a sedative. The medication took a while but eventually Hal settled down and went to sleep.

Tom collapsed into the chair beside the cot and buried his face in his hands, all the grief and worry he had felt earlier increasing maximum capacity. He didn't know how much more of this he could take. Hal was getting better, Anne had so herself and now he had apparently gone into some kind of shock. This wasn't something that a simple dose of medicine could take care of, this would require a lot of therapy and numerous other methods that he didn't even know about.

Not only had those aliens taken away his son's free will but now it looked as if they may have taken his mind as well.

**A/N: I hope you enjoyed the update and just so everyone knows we are nearing the end but if things go the way they are in my mind there is a possibility of a sequel. Thanks for reading and please review!**


	26. Until The Day I Die

**Hey, sorry it took so long for me to update again but winter quarter at my college recently started and I have had to adjust a few things in my schedule but I'm back and I promise this story will be completed.**

**This chapter is filled with angst, and I mean a heap-load of it so get ready for some father/son angst because this chapter is filled with!**

-Tom-

Hal had been unconscious for a few hours now and Tom had not left his side in that amount of time for anything longer than going to the bathroom. He wasn't going to risk leaving his side and having his son wake up alone. Not again.

The pieces of glass that had been embedded in his palms had long since been removed, but the memory of having to watch Anne pick each and every one out while Hal remained listless was still all too vivid. It wasn't just the fact that his son had gotten hurt while he wasn't there to watch him, it was also because the injury had obviously been self-inflicted and that was what hurt the most.

Anne walked over to him, holding a dented tin cup of coffee. She handed the cup to him and he accepted it with a small thanks, his eyes never leaving that of his son.

-Anne-

Anne checked Hal's pulse and besides beating a little faster than a normal heart rate at rest it was acceptable.

"I need to check on his stitching, could you help me roll him onto his stomach?" Tom nodded and set his cup down.

Together they managed to carefully position Hal on his stomach and Anne worked on gently removing the bandaging. Tom watched as she set the bloodied bandage to the side and inspected the area. Thankfully there wasn't any redness, swelling or pus droplets coming from the wound so that was a good thing.

She picked up the antibiotic ointment and dabbed a reasonable amount onto a cotton swab and applied the ointment from the center of the stitches outward.

When she was done she set the supplies aside and placed fresh gauze over the wound, taping the bandage in place she pulled back and couldn't help but take a moment to look over the damage that had been wrought on the unfortunate teen.

Rods, or spikes as many called them, ran up his spine and a short way up his neck, stopping just below the area where stitches were. Scars from past encounters with the aliens and fresh ones she could only guess had come from his time being held captive by the aliens riddled his body. His neck was also red and bruised in a pattern that looked to be handprints, her stomach dropped at the realization that thought brought; as far as she knew no one in the mass. had attacked Hal since he had been freed from whatever had been controlling him. If these marks had happened during that fight they would have shown up much sooner, leaving the only conclusion that they had been self-inflicted, the same of course went with the injuries to his hands.

Looking away from Hal she turned her attention to Tom who had perched himself on the chair beside the bed, his hand in a fist, placed under his nose and pressed up against his mouth while his left foot tapped out a random pattern on the concrete floor.

"The stitches are looking good, no sign of infection" she spoke, watching him for a reaction.

Tom continued to worry away, lost in his own troubled thoughts.

Since she didn't have Tom's help she had to be more careful as she was turning Hal back onto his back. She didn't want to accidentally open his stitches up, he had already lost a major amount of blood earlier and she really didn't want to subject either Tom or Hal to another blood transfusion.

Anne was about to speak again but was cut off by the urgent presence of Lourdes, her hair was strewn about her face and her body was vibrating with adrenaline. Running up to Anne the young girl, anxiously told her of a huge group of soldiers that had returned with multiple cases of injuries, a few that needed immediate medical attention and Dr. Thomas could only do so much without some more assistance. This was said by the frazzled girl in one breath.

Of course, things had to go from bad to worse. They could never have a moment of peace!

"I'll be right there" turning to Tom she walked over to the distraught father, placing her hand on his shoulder. He jumped slightly and looked up at her.

"I need to assist Dr. Thomas with a group of injured soldiers, I'll be back as soon as I can. If I'm not back before Hal wakes up just try to keep him calm and call for Lourdes if you need any help" taking his nod as an affirmative she followed Lourdes out of the tent and over to the area where the injured party had gathered.

-Tom-

When Anne had left Tom rose from the chair and hovered over his son's beside. Staring down at Hal, his body battered and bruised Tom felt overwhelmed with guilt and failure; he hadn't protected his son, just like he hadn't protected Ben enough when he had been taken by the skitters.

At this rate Matt was probably going to be taken by the aliens and turned into an alien slave.

Negative thoughts had been running rampant in his mind ever since Ben had been taken, they had only gotten worse when Hal had been taken from him as well. Every time one of his kids got hurt another knife of guilt was stabbed into his subconscious, leaking into his mind and infecting his every thought with self-loathing, self-hatred, guilt and shame.

A violent swipe of guilt raked across his soul and he stumbled back, collapsing onto the bed behind him. The one his middle child had recently occupied, and with that thought another blow of shame was dealt.

"All I ever wanted was for you boys to live happy, normal, safe lives. I wanted to grow old with your mother and watch you guys grow up to be the fine young men we both knew you would become then start families of your own. Your mother and I always talked about how we were going to spoil all the grandchildren you and your brothers were going to give us, not a day would go by that they didn't know they were loved and the love that their fathers came from" he leaned forward now, resting his elbows on his knees, looking at his unconscious child in front of him.

Tears began to fall from his eyes, but he didn't move to wipe them away, he couldn't even feel them.

"I remember the day your mother and I found out we were going to be parents. We had been trying for so long and seen so many doctors, they all kept saying the same thing: There didn't seem to be anything medically wrong with me or your mother but for some reason we just couldn't get pregnant. After a while we just stopped trying, too afraid to keep trying and keep getting our hearts broken. But all the frustration we were feeling finally built up and we just couldn't stop trying anymore, we wanted children so we decided to try one last time on our own and then we would seek help from doctors. A few weeks later your mom took a pregnancy test and it came out positive, when she showed me the test I felt like a whole new amazing world had been laid out before me. And when the doctors confirmed it I actually cried because our prayers had been answered, you were given to us" moving from the bed he sat back down in the chair, scooting closer to the bed and resting his hand atop Hal's head, gently massaging his scalp.

"When you were born, I held you in my arms and looked down at your angelic face and I swore to myself and to you that I was going to love you, support you and protect you and I continued to promise that to your brothers as well. But I failed you, all of you. I've tried so hard to keep you all safe but I'm realizing that I didn't protect you enough and I'm so sorry for that. I failed you as a father, I was blessed with three beautiful children and I've managed to taint your lives with death, fighting and emotional baggage a million miles long" he watched the rapid movement beneath Hal's eyelids, he was dreaming. He only hoped that he was having dreams of happier times and not forced to endure more torment by tragedies.

"It should've been me, your mother should have stayed with you and your brothers and I should've gone on the food run. I should be dead not her, never her"

He could no longer keep a mental wall on the anguish that he was feeling. The tears that had been running from his eyes increased and an anguished sob tore through his throat, his body wracked with violent tremors.

Moving down he laid his face down into the blanket that covered his son and continued to cry. Not caring if people saw, he was past the point of caring what others thought of him.

A weak groan brought him out of his impaired state, looking up he was surprised to see that Hal was waking up, or at least it appeared that he was. It looked like he was trying to open his eyes but he wasn't having much luck.

"Hal? Hal can you hear me?" he reached for his hand and gently squeezed, trying to help Hal focus on something.

He was met with another groan. Tom watched as Hal's eyes finally began to flutter open. They were cloudy and erratic, roaming around the area in front of him and over Tom.

When Hal's eyes looked to be gaining more focus and were not moving as erratically as they had been Tom tried getting his attention again.

"Hal?"

Hal jumped at the sound, cringing in pain when he obviously rattled his injuries, Tom laid his hand on top of Hal's, trying to give him comfort.

Slowly, his movements almost unsure, Hal's head turned towards him. Tom was pained to see the uncertainty and fear that he saw reflected in his son's eyes.

"Dad?" his voice was small and uncertain, sounding nothing like the strong rebellious teen he had once been but a lost, scared little boy.

"Yeah, yeah it's me son " tears leaked from his eyes, overwhelmed with happiness that his son was awake.

-Hal-

The first thing Hal noticed when he came to was the unnerving feeling of being watched and his body felt heavy and his mind was fuzzy, unable to remember when he had gone to sleep.

It was like swimming through molasses in his attempts to open his eyes, he would get so close but then the light would be swallowed by darkness and he would be encased in darkness once again. There was also the muffled vibrations that were bouncing off the walls of the darkness, entering his ears.

Finally he managed to stroke through the thickness of the molasses and opened his eyes but there was still a remnant of film over his eyes, obscuring his vision and causing everything to be covered in fog.

The vibrations returned and he jumped in surprise, not expecting the noise to follow him but this time he could hear a slight undertone of a familiar voice beneath the vibrations, a voice that wasn't filled with hate and mockery but love.

Slowly the film dissolved and he was able to make out his surroundings, if his memory was right he was back in the med tent, he was confused however about how he had come to be here. Last thing he remembered was being in the restroom, something had happened there, he just couldn't place what exactly, but he knew that it was bad, evil in fact.

"Hal?"

He was still a little uncertain about the voice but he went with his gut and tentatively turned his head in the direction the voice was coming from. Relief filled him when he saw that it was his dad, but the foreign feeling of the need to be wary was waging a war with his actions.

"Dad?" he was almost afraid to hear the answer.

Hal watched as tears filled his dad's eyes and a smile crept onto his face, his eyes widened in fear, there was a memory itching to come forward at the back of his mind.

"Yeah, yeah it's me son" his dad tearfully answered.

"What happened?" he whispered, he was just now noticing that his throat was extremely sore and it felt like nails had been raked down his throat.

He became a little more alarmed when the mood drastically changed at his question, he watched his dad's eyes darken and his posture stiffened a little. Something bad had happened, that much he could guess but to what extent he was afraid to find out, but he had to know.

When his dad had been quiet for too long Hal grew impatient, his nerves growing the longer his question went unanswered.

"Dad?!"

-Tom-

This time it was Tom who jumped, being taken out of whatever memory he was trapped in.

"Um, what, what do you remember?" he figured it was the safest route to hear what Hal remembered and work from there.

He watched as Hal's eyes left his own and traveled to a place that only he could see.

-Hal-

In response to his dad's follow up question he took a moment to look away from him and go back into his mind, trying to snatch onto the memories that were so far out of reach, teasing him with their secret knowledge then flying away, mocking him.

A flash of light entered his vision, a memory! He could see the blurry images moving inside the clouded frame. He reached out for the image, it was only a breath away when the light exploded and as if someone had pressed the fast forward button memories spiraled around me, showing images that were filled with horrific images of Mattie standing in front of him, drenched in his own blood and accusing him of savagely murdering him.

The haunting look in his littlest brother's eyes was like acid to his heart, melting him from the inside out, boiling his lungs so that he couldn't breathe.

He was flashed to an image where Mattie had wrapped his bloody tentacles around his throat, raising him into the air, the same accusing look in his eyes as he accused him again of killing him. He could feel the tentacles wrapped around his throat, constricting his breathing and movement, making his heart feel like it was going to pound its way out of his chest.

The images were shaken when a voice, a familiar one, one that spoke of protection and love, echoed through his mind, calling to him, begging him to come back, to snap out of it. His whole mind physically shook when he felt an invisible source of pressure on his shoulders, the voice had gotten louder.

Clinging to the safety the voice promised Hal was able to pull himself out of his soul rotting memories.

Back in the real world Hal saw that his dad was seated on the bed in front of him, fright and anxiety lighting his eyes, his hands on his shoulders and his body shaking, speaking volumes of the terror he was going through. Terror that Hal had caused, once again he was responsible for causing someone pain.

The dark thoughts tried to pull him back under but were thwarted by another anchoring shake from his dad.

"You gotta stay with me Hal, I can't stand to see you go back wherever it is your mind's going" he pleaded, tears shining his eyes. Hal could see redness and blotchiness from tears that had been recently shed. Another gallon of acid was poured down his throat, burning him from the inside out.

-Tom-

It was killing him watching his son suffer, he wished he could fight the demons that were obviously plaguing his son but they were invisible to him, as much as he hated to admit it, Hal would have to do most of the fighting on his own but Tom would do his damndest to provide support and backup for whatever he may need.

He could see that the vicious demons were still clawing away at his son's psyche, causing his son to remember anymore would only add fuel to the hellish fires that were roaring in his mind. He would stop asking him questions for now, Hal needed to recover and then when he was a little more well Tom would start again, because burying something this massive and mind rotting was not healthy.

"I remember hate...and blood, so much blood" Hal whispered, staring down at his clenched hands with such a haunted look that you'd believe that his hands were coated in the red plasma. But they weren't, the only blood Tom could see was from the wounds that had been inflicted with the glass and were now bandaged up.

Hal's legs moved towards his chest, his arms wrapping around his thighs, his eyes continued to stare at his hands that were clutching his knees, Tom was worried that his son was so engrossed in his disturbing thoughts that he didn't even register the pain his body had to be enduring with the new position he had moved his body into.

"We don't have to do this now Hal, we can wait until you're feeling a little better" he wasn't just pleading with his son for Hal's own health and mental state but his own as well, he wasn't ready yet to hear the dark thoughts that were clouding his son's mind.

But Hal vehemently shook his head, "no, I need someone to know, all these memories are frying my brain with the hatred and rage that vibrates off them. It's like acid dad, it's like someone is water-boarding me with acid and dumping salt on my open wounds. It's killing me dad, I can't breathe, I can't close my eyes without seeing all the pain that I've caused, I can't take it anymore...I just can't!" he screamed the last part, his voice anguished and dripping with self deprecation.

Tears fell from Hal's eyes, leaving despair filled trails down his cheeks, his body shook with sobs and more tears followed. He couldn't hold himself back any longer, leaning forward he gathered Hal into his arms.

Hal at first resisted the comfort but soon gave in and pressed his face into his dad's collarbone, desperately clutching onto his shirt collar and cried heavily into his shirt, the garment was dampening quickly.

"I can't...I just can't" he repeated over and over again.

Tom continued to rock him, rubbing his back, when his hand first met the hated feel of the spikes Tom inwardly cursed at the aliens, then moved his hand so that it was on the side of his spine and soothingly rubbed his back.

"It's okay, it's going to be okay" he tried to console, but his voice was choked up with the tears that were falling from his eyes, wracking his body with tremors.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry..."

**A/N: I hope you all enjoyed the update and I am warning everyone in advance, the next chapter is pretty emotional and someone we all love and hold dear will get seriously injured. Please review if you want to find out who!**


	27. Razorblades

**First off sorry does not even began to cover how awful I feel about not updating for nearly a month. I hope I haven't lost too many readers but as I promised before I will always come back. I realize that the closer this story comes to being finished the harder it is for me to write, I guess in a way I am prolonging the inevitable end also there are only about two-three chapters left, most likely only two though.**

-Hal-

Nighttime had fallen, or at least he suspected it had because of all the civilians retreating to their respective makeshift beds. He was still in the med tent, non-verbally ordered to stay there until Anne said otherwise, but he was more than content to stay in the tent regardless, he didn't want to have to face the rest of the mass. yet.

More memories from when the doppelganger had had control had come to him, one in particular that really made him afraid to step foot out of the tent was the memory of all the good people in the mass. that he had hurt, he had long since stopped blaming the doppelganger, and more than likely killed, that even included Pope! He was more than aware that there was a target on his back;part of him was tempted to just pack up and leave, he didn't want to cause any more pain than he already had but then he thought about his family and how they would be crushed if he did go and he knew that they would eventually persuade him to stay.

Approaching footsteps caused him to look up and he was surprised to see Weaver walking towards him, a warm smile on his face but Hal could see that there was some uncertainty there as well and Hal chalked that up for another possible reason for leaving: not even the captain was completely comfortable around him.

Weaver sat down in the chair his father had previously occupied, and the only reason he wasn't currently was because Hal had pleaded to him to go and spend some time with Mattie and Ben, to tell that him he was feeling a lot better, which was a total lie, and that he was going to be up and about real soon. It was a no brainer that Ben would see right through the lie, himself always being a little more intuitive with these kinds of situations.

Leaning back in the chair he watched as Weaver seemed to take a moment to look him over, as if searching for something, maybe to see if he there was any sigh that Hal was truly back and not the doppelganger.

"How are you feeling son? Anne tells me that your healing physically but I have a sneaking suspicion that the main concern should be with how your feeling mentally" Hal was a little taken aback by the knowledge Weaver had, then again Weaver did have an extensive military background so he shouldn't be too surprised.

Hal took a moment to think over the possible answers he could give him, he wanted to lie, he wanted to give Weaver a reason to believe that he was truly back but he couldn't because he wasn't doing alright. He felt like a foreign virus that had invaded the body that he had domain over and was slowly killing the rightful host.

"You don't have to bullshit me, I won't judge you" Weaver encouraged.

-Weaver-

He watched the torment whirl in the young teen's eyes, the kind of pain that spoke volumes of the pain and torment that Hal had endured, a feat that no one his age or any age for that matter should have to overcome.

The teen reminded him of a lot of the good men that he had served beside during his military service, all of them had been bright, driven young men but the war had drastically changed them it had changed him too. It made him a much rougher man, his emotions were sealed away in a metal box in his head, chained up so that they could not be used against him and his temper was quick and deadly.

PTSD, post traumatic stress disorder, an unfortunate common parting gift that many people who have been to war suffer from, he himself had been a victim. After returning from his last deployment he had been distant with his family, locking himself in his study and draining bottle after bottle of whisky that had quickly become his best friend in order to dull the pain and fear that came with the flashbacks he constantly got of all the violence and death that he had witnessed, all the men that he had killed and watched be killed.

His wife tried to be patient, she gave him the space that she thought he needed and left his meals outside the door, it was rare that he actually ate the food she made and he lost an unhealthy amount of weight. Whenever they did cross paths and she would give him a small greeting he would lash out at her, at one point he had even hit her and after having done so he had stormed back into his study and slammed the door.

Looking back at that he was more than glad that they didn't have children yet but that was a small relief to the hatred he felt towards himself for striking the woman he loved. To this day he hasn't forgiven himself, he most likely never will.

A few days later he had passed out in his study, an empty glass of scotch in his hand. The room was bathed in the stench of alcohol and musk that wafted off him from the days he had gone without showering, he looked and smelled like a wild animal, a lot of the time he even acted like one.

It was then that his wife had called the Veterans hospital and a bus had been sent to their house. He couldn't remember what happened while he was being brought to the hospital but he had been informed that he had been violent and uncooperative. He spent the next 7 months in the hospital working on overcoming his illness.

While there he hadn't liked his wife to come and see him, he was ashamed, especially when he had moments of memory that showed him hitting her, the memory made him want to throw up and retaliate against himself. She had respected his wishes but he knew that she had wished she could be there to help him heal.

When he had returned she had wrapped him in her arms and rubbed his back, telling him over and over again how much she loved him and was glad he was home.

Coming out of his reverie he focused his attention back on Hal, seeing that he was doing everything he could to not meet his gaze.

"You don't have to bullshit me, I won't judge you" he encouraged, hoping that Hal could see that he could confide in him.

-Hal-

"Thanks, I-I'm not doing too good actually. I feel like a stranger and I know that Anne my dad and brothers just want to help me but I can't stop looking at them and hating myself for all the pain that I'm causing them. There's enough shit going on that they shouldn't have to deal with my problems" he admitted, a bitter smile stretching across his face.

"Maybe it would have been better if I hadn't come back at all" he didn't meet Weaver's gaze at this last comment, too caught up in the self-deprecating thoughts that clouded his mind.

He jumped when a rough hand landed on his shoulder, turning his head he saw Weaver giving him a dark look,

"Don't you be saying that, your family was a wreck when you were gone, Tom barely ate or slept, Ben was always out on scouting trips looking for you and fasting like his old man and Mattie was practically a mute. But when you came back everyone saw the light return to their eyes, so don't you go saying shit like that!" he warned, pulling his hand back but the hard look he was giving Hal remained until he nodded his head in acknowledgement.

But on the inside he was still considering the alternative and he knew that Weaver was aware of this.

"Look Hal, I've gone through a lot of what you're feeling: anger, confusion, self-hatred and a shitload of other emotions but you don't have to go through this alone. I'm not saying that you have to let your family coddle you but you have to let them help you a little, for as much as for your well being as for them. I made the mistake of pushing my wife away when I was suffering from PTSD but you don't have to make my mistake, they can help you all you have to do is give them a chance"

Hal was shocked by the advice he had been given, especially by the source it had come from. Weaver was a great man and Captain but he wasn't really known for his heart felt advice. This actually seemed like the longest conversation he had ever had with the older man, and the most meaningful.

Seeing that Weaver was waiting for some kind of response he nodded his head, still a little perplexed by the man's speech.

Getting up from the chair Weaver stood beside his bed, "Keep in mind what I said, and get better soon, I've been in sore need of an experienced scout as of late" patting Hal on the shoulder one last time Weaver exited the tent, leaving Hal to his thoughts once more.

_"You'll only hurt them more Hal, you taint everything you touch"_

He shook his head, mentally telling the doppelganger to shut up, he was met with cold laughter that sent chills up his spine.

"No one trusts you, you saw the way Weaver looked at you, he's just waiting for you to snap so that he can put you in front of the firing squad" the doppelganger goaded, having appeared on the chair that Weaver had previously occupied.

Hal wasn't even phased by the doppelganger's appearance, he had long ago accepted that he was doomed to forever be haunted by the demonic thing.

"And what do you suggest I do then?" he asked, staring down at the sheets that covered his legs.

It leaned closer until it's lips were almost touching his ear, "take the ultimate plunge, end your suffering and theirs"

His heart skipped a beat, eyes widening in shock. Could it really be that easy?

Eyes traveling up he turned his head to the right and laid eyes on a weapon that was hanging from the end of a cot, the injured soldier it most likely belonged to fast asleep.

Pulling back the covers he made to stand up but a tugging in his left hand reminded him that he was still attached to the IV drip, he carelessly tore the needle out, not feeling the pain that came along with the action or the blood that was slowly dripping from the entry mark.

Standing from the bed he almost collapsed from the light headedness that rushed down on him but he balanced himself by planting his hands on the cot then on shaky legs pushed himself back up and stumbled towards the gun, almost falling over again but with deep breaths and moments of rest he made it to the gun.

Picking the gun up he clutched his potential salvation in his arms. He blindly moved back to his cot and collapsed back onto the thin mattress.

"All you have to do is put the barrel in your mouth and pull the trigger" it coached, sitting in front of him.

His grip tightened, hands shaking and clammy with sweat and nerves he slowly started to raise his hand, the closer the barrel came to his half opened mouth the more the need to find permanent peace consumed his every thought. The doppelganger was right, it would be that easy...

Just as the barrel made contact with his lips he was startled when his name was shouted with such terror that he would have accidently killed himself right there but the safety was still on so his brains didn't coat the walls yet.

-Tom-

Tom had just finished talking to Weaver about a scouting mission for more food and was returning to the med tent when he froze in absolute fright at the scene that met him.

Hal was sitting on his bed with a gun that was slowly moving up, his finger on the trigger.

It felt like he was moving in slow motion as he shouted at Hal, mentally realizing that doing this was not a good idea because Hal could get startled and pull the trigger, but his body was on autopilot, following his paternal demands to save his child.

Reaching Hal he made another stupid move when he urgently tried to snatch the gun from the teen's hands but Hal resisted, his grip tightening around the weapon. A death grip as it were.

Hal started to scream, pleading for Tom to stop and let him end it, let him take away the pain, all of their pain. Tom was shocked at the words that were spewing from his oldest, revealing just how much demons he was battling. Tears started to fall from his eyes as he continued to fight for the gun, surprised at how much energy Hal had after all that had happened.

"Please Hal, just give me the gun, you don't want to do this!" his words were falling on deaf ears, Hal was determined to get the gun and end his life, unknowingly shattering Tom's life as well.

He had always known, no matter how much he wished that it wasn't, that there was a chance that his children could lose their lives, a lot of parents had already experienced the heart wrenching moment but he had been lucky and had not had to bury a child yet. He didn't want to start now, he was supposed to go first, not his children, never them but the war with the aliens had changed that likelihood and every second of everyday was a chance that his sons could be taken away from him.

But Tom had never considered that one of them would consider taking their own life.

"You don't understand! I can't do this! I can't keep hurting people!" Hal sobbed, his grip never loosening.

More and more stunned blows were being dealt, piercing his heart. He was surprised the organ hadn't blown up yet from the amount of abuse it had endured.

"You're not hurting anyone Hal! I love you, your brothers love you so please, please just give me the gun and we can help you, just don't leave us, god please, don't leave us" he whimpered.

At one point during their struggle the safety had been turned off and with one accidental squeeze of the trigger a shot was fired.

The room was silent except for the sound of a surprised gasp of pain and the thump of a body hitting the ground.

As soon as the body had hit the ground sound returned to the world and a scream filled the tent. Anne's scream.

Tom turned and his heart literally stopped at the nightmarish sight that was before him. His youngest, his baby, was lying on the ground with blood rapidly forming a circle around him and Anne hovering over him, trying to apply pressure to the wound in his side.

He didn't hear the gun clatter to the ground as Hal and Tom both lost their grips on the weapon, the vial thing that had been used to _shoot_ his own child.

Flying off the bed Tom ran to Matt's side, on the verge of a heart attack at the stillness of his son and his whitening skin.

"Mattie? Oh god Mattie I'm sorry I'm so sorry!" he wanted to pull the boy into his arms but he didn't want to hurt him any further, Anne had to save him, she just had to.

Anne had been using her over-shirt to apply pressure to the wound and she was checking his pulse.

"Tom, Tom I need you to let go of Matt"

No, no he'll never let him go, how could she even suggest something like that?

"I can help him Tom but I need you to let go so that I can get the bullet out" Anne rephrased.

His whole body numb he didn't even register his hand falling away from the grip they had on the young boy's hand. All he could do was watch as Dr. Thomas picked the boy up and hurried with him to the med van, Anne hot on his heels shouting orders that he couldn't make out through the cotton in his ears.

By trying to save one son's life, he had ultimately put another's in jeopardy.

**A/N: Sorry this chapter was so short but I promise the next one will be longer, also I'm sorry for hurting Mattie but keep in mind that I did warn you that someone we all know and loved would get hurt. Also, the next chapter is when the next bout of action happens so your definitely going to want to review to show that you even want an update so please review!**


	28. Taste The Poison

**After much delay here is chapter 28, I made sure that this one was longer due to the amount of time that I've been away but I have been super busy, that and I recently turned 20 and I have been celebrating with my family. I hope you enjoy this update!**

-Tom-

Only a second of hollow silence passed before Tom was chasing after Dr. Thomas and his wounded son. People stopped and watched, some whispering to each other at the sight of the youngest Mason.

Entering the med van Tom could only stand in the background as his youngest was laid down on what was their operating table and watched in shock as Anne cut open his shirt and revealed the bloody bubbling mess beneath.

Matt's skin was quickly turning chalk white and he was sickened at the sluggish breaths he was slowly losing.

He wanted to grab Mattie and run when he saw Anne pick up the tweezers and he almost did just that when Dr. Thomas put his hands on Matt's shoulders to keep him down but Lourdes, who had apparently followed them, grabbed him by the back of his coat and held him back.

"They're trying to save him Tom, you need to let them help him" she tried to reason.

Anne sunk the tip of the tweezers into the wound and Matt let out a weak groan, trying to move away from the new intruding pain but his body was rapidly shutting down, his life blood flowing out of him and teetering his very soul on the scales between life and death. Death had the most leverage.

"I can feel the bullet" Anne said aloud, moving the tweezers deeper into Matt's flesh, more blood pumped from his pliant form.

Tom couldn't hold back the bile at the scene before him and he barely had enough time to get outside the van and toss what little food he had had to eat. His throat burned with the acid that accumulated most of the bile, making his eyes water and his stomach twist in knots in preparation for another round. But he no longer had anything else to throw up so all he could do was dry heave, his body wracked and quivered with the exertion.

Once the dry heaves stopped Tom stumbled back into the med van but he immediately wished he had remained outside when he was welcomed with the sight of Anne's hands and arms drenched in Matt's blood, doing compressions on his small chest and giving him mouth to mouth, Lourdes was counting and Dr. Thomas had Matt's wrist in his hand, checking for a pulse.

-Anne-

Feeling the edge of the bullet Anne pressed the tweezers deeper into Matt's small form. She had to put aside her emotions and focus on the task at hand, she couldn't afford to make any mistakes.

She almost didn't hear it as Matt took one last gasping breath then nothing. He wasn't breathing.

"I lost his pulse!" Dr. Thomas exclaimed, moving his index and thumb around along his wrist.

Anne put the tweezers aside and began doing compressions, counting to 30 then giving rescue breaths.

Still no pulse.

The compressions and rescue breaths continued for what felt like decades, she had been able to feel the moment Matt's ribs had fractured beneath her touch.

Dr. Thomas must have noticed how hopeless the situation was becoming and had gradually let go of Matt's wrist, watching on as Anne continued to fight a losing battle.

"Dr. Glass it's over" Dr. Thomas spoke softly, reaching over Matt's frail body and placing his hand over her right.

Anne brushed his hand away, continuing to press down on the small chest.

"No, I can save him!" she insisted, her eyes wild with desperation.

She didn't notice Dr. Thomas move around the table until she felt arms wrap around her midsection and try to pull her away. She hollered, ordering him to let her go. When he continued to try and pull her away she jerked her leg back and kicked him in the stomach, throwing him back.

Going back to Matt she pressed out a few more compressions and with a soft sputtering breath Matt's eyes cracked open and he hacked out a few coughs. She put him on his side for a few seconds, that was as long as she could afford, before turning him back over.

Looking over her shoulder she saw Lourdes and ushered her over, when the young women was standing next to her she spoke,

"I can't risk putting him under so I'm going to have to take the bullet out while he's conscious. I'm going to need you to hold him down until I get the bullet out" when the young woman nodded in understanding and went to the other side of the table, she took the same position Dr. Thomas had held and placed her hands on Matt's shoulders.

Anne had noticed Tom was in the van but he would be of no use to her right now, she could tell by his eyes and his pale face that he was too consumed with his grief and fear.

Picking the tweezers back up she took a second to look into Matt's eyes to convey how sorry she was before sliding the ends back into the wound.

Matt's scream of agony broke her heart and his small struggles to budge off her hands made it even more difficult to continue what she had to do.

Lourdes moved her hands around until she had a better grip on Matt then locked her elbows and stilled 98% of his movements.

With his movements mostly stilled Anne quickly located the bullet once more and with the urgency to get the object out was not as gentle or slow as she should have been but she didn't want Matt to have to suffer for much longer.

Once the bullet was out Matt's screams quieted down into sobs and his little body trembled with adrenaline. Lourdes held out a metal bowl and she dropped the bullet into it and got to work on sewing the wound up.

Just as she was starting the third stitch a loud chilling familiar moan echoed throughout the air, silencing everyone and stopping them in their tracks.

The aliens had found them.

-Tom-

The moment the moan of a mech. swept through his ears all the grief and fear that he was feeling escalated but he couldn't let his emotions consume him, he had to be in the right state of mind to defend his loved ones.

Looking at Anne who was hovering over Matt, going as fast as she could to sew him up two choices filled his mind: He could either stay here with Matt, standing on the sidelines doing nothing or he could go out and fight.

It was the ominous silence that always hit before the storm that fueled Tom's next move.

A blast of weaponry, most likely a mech., shook the very ground of the hangar, subsequently shaking the med van around to the point where it almost collapsed but there was a moment of mercy from the faiths and the van continued to stand.

Sparing a final glance at Matt who was almost completely covered by Anne's body he then flew from the van and rushed to the gathering group of people that were surrounding Weaver who was shouting out orders.

"-secure the civilians and get the hell out of here!" the armed soldiers took their orders and separated, all going in groups in different directions.

Catching Weaver's attention the captain walked over to him, accepting a rifle from Anthony who was traveling alongside him.

Tom was just opening his mouth to speak when skitters stormed the hangar, viciously attacking any humans that it came across, splattering and smearing the floor and walls with their blood.

Shots were fired and many hit their targets though people continuously died around them, for some their deaths were quick and nearly painless but for others the darkness of death was filled with spotty darkness and bubbles filled with skin piercing razors.

More and more skitters streamed in, mechs. surrounding the hangar firing shots off at the building, greatly weakening the support beams and endangering the whole building of collapsing.

Weaver and Anthony fired shot after shot off at an approaching skitter, one that looked intent on ripping the two apart. With one more well aimed bullet to the eye the skitter screeched and crumbled to the ground, body convulsing until it ceased all movement.

Terrified screams and anguished cries terrorized the sound waves, evoking memories of past battles.

Grabbing the first firearm he could find he immediately opened fire on any aliens that was in his sight. His only moment of pause was when he saw Ben leap onto the back of a skitter and plunge his knife deep into its skull. The skitter sank to the ground and collapsed onto its side, dead before it hit the ground.

But even with the amount that the mass. had taken out, it seemed as if all of the invading aliens had joined forces to wipe them out. In a way it was almost a compliment, the fact that they had to bring in reinforcements meant that they had made a big enough impact in the fight that they were seen as a threat. Of course there was also a negative side, that being that the target on their back expanded greatly in size.

Tom saw that a skitter was scurrying towards him and he raised his weapon to fire but was met with the click of an empty barrel.

Just as the skittering was raising its talon like hand to deliver the deadly blow Hal came out of nowhere and shoved it to the side; the alien went flying and crashed into a group of fighting soldiers.

Rising from the ground, Tom slowly approached him, suddenly apprehensive of startling Hal, a feeling that he hated himself for immediately because this was his son, the little boy he had once carried high on his shoulders and helped him learn to ride his first bike; he refused to see that he was in the presence of a monster and not his flesh and blood.

The sounds of fighting and dying faded out around him as he stood beside Hal, deep down he knew that he should be on the alert not allowing himself to be sucked into this moment but as much as he hated it he had to be sure that his son was really there and not some alien created killer.

"Hal?"

He watched Hal's muscle stiffen, recoiling away from a touch that never came, it was as if he was replaying the moment he had first woken up.

"Now's not the time dad" he whispered, not meeting his gaze.

Sprinting off Tom was unable to stop him, he could only watch as Hal attacked the closest skitter and the violent way he managed to tear its head off chilled him to the bone.

A loud earth shattering explosion erupted just feet away from him and he was close enough to the blast where he was sent tumbling, ending up in a pile of dead and slowing dying people.

The stench of copper and the feel of wet slippery flesh made him sick, his equilibrium was out of whack so he was forced to crawl out of the blanket of corpses. Blood smeared his clothing and skin, making his skin crawl with the knowledge each and every speck of blood that covered him belonged to an individual who had had a history, a family, and a future that had been snatched away from them.

Shakily rising to his feet Tom looked at the destruction and death that had once again converged on the 2nd mass. and this one was going to be one that haunted his dreams for years to come.

Things were beginning to look bleak, so many good people had fallen, the number was too high but regardless it was one death too many.

The only word to describe the scene around him was massacre, he remembered the lectures he had given on the attack on the twin towers and the devastation, grief and terror that had been left in its wake. Families had been torn apart and the world was never the same again.

A similar feeling was washing over him now, only the aliens had taken the place of the terrorists, the hangar was the twin towers and they were the United States of America.

-Hal-

He couldn't believe what he had done, he had shot his little brother, accident or not he had caused his little brother harm and because of that Matt could die and his blood would be on his hands.

The image of Matt drenched in blood and asking him why pounded around in his head. Now the image seemed like a dark glimpse into the future instead of a cruel illusion the doppelganger had dreamed up.

If Mattie died, that was it, he would leave the 2nd mass. the gun that his dad had taken away from him was looking more tempting by the minute but then he remembered Mattie's horrified and surprised look as he clutched his bleeding stomach and he realized that his punishment was having to live with that image and death was an undeserved gift, one that he would have to pay penance for everyday for the rest of his life.

His eyes traveled to the smeared blood on the floor, now dry and forever staining that section of floor with the DNA of his little brother. The memory of that moment was on a continuous loop in his mind, torturing him with the small gasps Matt made and his father's horrified expression.

A sudden chill ran down his spiked spine, he wasn't sure how but he could feel the aliens' presence, they're alien mutterings thumbed across his mind talking of plans to attack and more specifically the goal of wiping out all the humans.

They were here.

Leaping off the cot he dashed out of the tent and headed for Weaver's tent, he nearly collided with a group of people who were milling around in front of the small eating area. Entering the tent he was met with distrustful looks and slightly raised firearms.

Ignoring this he went right to Weaver, "the aliens found us and they're right outside"

Weaver opened his mouth, probably to question how he knew that, but was cut off by a loud explosion that rattled the entire hangar. Sparing Hal only a glance Weaver quickly exited the tent, the soldiers inside following him out.

He was set to follow as well but was blocked by the Doppelganger who had on its infamous smirk, its arms crossed in front of it and evil thrumming the air around it.

"I warned you something like this would happen, death follows you Hal and yet you continue to stay, putting everyone you care about in danger" it tsked, shaking its head as it stepped closer to him. Hal stayed perfectly still, just waiting for the doppelganger to stop its deprecating speech.

Screams pierced the air and shots were fired, he could distinctly hear Weaver shouting out orders and the jarring blasts of the mechs. weaponry.

This was just like the battle at the school, he had once again brought death to the people he cared about. The doppelganger was right, death did follow him.

"You should have taken the shot Hal, if you had your precious little brother wouldn't be fighting for his life and you wouldn't have to see the distrustful looks that everyone is giving you. Hell, maybe you should just walk right in front of a mech. and let them fire away, it would solve everyone's problems" once again it was encouraging him to take his own life, it was right, his death would solve a lot of problems; no one would have to worry about him losing it and going around killing people, he would no longer be a danger to his family and he wouldn't have to see the fear that was reflected in each and every person's eyes he looked into.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw his dad take off towards the action, his eyes wild with adrenaline and his mouth set in a firm line. In his hand was a firearm but Hal had a sinking feeling that with the thoughts that had to be messing with his head his dad would not be as quick and cunning as he usually was.

Fear for his father made him step forward, needing to help but the Doppelganger continued to block his path, its expression seeming to morph into irritation, probably because he had yet to take his own life. Luckily for it, his mind wasn't off that option just yet and would only require a few more well aimed words to put the final nail in his coffin.

"What do you think you can do? All you've done is cause everyone around you to suffer and-" not letting it finish he walked straight through its form,

"Shut up" he muttered, his eyes then scanning the fighting arena for his dad.

His eyes finally found his father's figure but they widened in fear when they saw him struggling with his firearm. The skitter was getting closer, its deadly claws extended to slice open his dad's skin.

Knowing that every second counted he sprinted towards the skitter and, ramming his shoulder into the skitter's side, he sent the alien bastard flying and he was only he felt a moment of guilt when he saw that he had in avertedly sent the pissed off alien into a group of soldiers who were now paying the price with their lives.

Chest heaving, eyes wild with adrenaline and his stance hunched over slightly he sent a precursory glance at the carnage growing around him. A river of blood descended across the concrete floor, several other river of bloods joined the first creating a hellish confluence that intertwined all the lost souls.

Out of the corner of his eyes he could see the doppelganger laughing at him, probably basking in the death that surrounded it. Looking away from the doppelganger he couldn't help the flinch that occurred when he saw his dad reaching out for him, concern and an undeniable trace of fear lingering in his eyes. He didn't want his dad touching him, he wouldn't allow the evil that infected him spread to his father or anyone for that matter.

"Now's not the time dad" he whispered, hating himself for the hurt his words caused.

Sprinting off before his dad could protest he launched himself into another fight, he was terrified to find that he was able to subconsciously jump onto a skitter's back and rip its head off. He was losing himself, killing was becoming a second nature to him and he knew then that he would never be the same again.

He was like a machine, every blow that came his way bounced off him, not even registering that contact had been made. Somehow he managed to dig himself into a dark, enclosed area in his mind that protected him from the horrors being caused by his own hands, whether it was aimed at an enemy or not his psyche was still trying to protect itself from any more bloodshed.

It wasn't until he was physically lifted from the ground that his safe bubble popped and he was brought back to the real world.

"-Hal! Hal! It's over, it's over son!" it was his dad, apparently at some point he had managed to get a hold of Hal and getting enough leverage and a good enough grip to lift him away from what he could now see was what remained of a skitter.

Another fact that he hadn't realized till that very moment was that he had been screaming, explaining why his throat was so sore and dry. Taking deep breaths to calm himself down, he waited a few moments till his breathing and heart rate had slow down to quietly tell his dad that could let him go.

The words seemed to have double meaning for his dad because he could have sworn he heard him mutter a deep sorrowful "no".

Figuring that he should rephrase his words he spoke again, "you can put me down dad"

The words finally getting across Hal was released from his dad's hold but he could see his dad's hands twitch at his sides, eager to resume their strong hold on him. Looking at his dad he saw that his arms and midsection were covered in skitter blood, the brown fluid dripping off his hands and painting the floor below them.

Looking around the hangar he was met with the gruesome sight of corpses scattered throughout the hangar, human and skitter blood mixing together on the ground to create a sickening gory color, alien and human limbs littered the concrete as well along with the chilling aftershocks of violent deaths. Looking down at himself he saw that he was drenched in skitter blood, the vile fluid sticking to him like a disease.

He could feel people's judging eyes on him, waiting for him to have another episode and kill them all. Anne was making her rounds with the injured, taking care of the worst injuries first then moving on to the ones that only required simple first aid.

The sight of Anne also brought back the memories of what he had done to Matt, if she was helping the wounded then that meant one of two things, that Matt was recovering or..he was dead; the last possibility made his stomach churn and he could feel the bile trying to claw its way out of his mouth but he swallowed the acidic substance back and winced at the burn and foul taste it left in his mouth.

When Anne looked up he met her gaze and without a second thought walked towards her, he was all too aware of people hurriedly backing away when he passed, and while that did sting he knew that their fears were justified.

She saw him coming and met him partial way, not wanting to be too far away from the person that she was tending to.

"Are you okay?" she gently asked, and bless her for the absolute trust and empathy that she showed him by not looking the slightest bit afraid of him.

He wanted to tell her that his own wellbeing meant nothing to him right now, all that mattered was if his little brother was alive and healing but he knew that she would just go into a lecture about how herself, his dad and Ben were worried about him, but he secretly knew that their love for him must have decreased because of what he had done to Matt.

Putting on the best blank look he could he answered, his answer quick and short "as well as I can be"

Seeing that she was opening her mouth to call him on his evasive answer he interrupted her, not wanting to waste anymore time,

"How's Matt?"

Her mouth turned downwards and worry clouded her eyes. Oh god, no, no, no not Mattie he couldn't be gone, he was the one who should be dead not his innocent little brother who only ever wanted to help.

He didn't realize he was hyperventilating until Anne placed her hands on his shoulder, grounding him and talking to him in a soothing manner,

"Hal, you need to calm down okay getting worked up isn't going to help anyone" an order, he could follow an order especially if it meant potentially helping Matt.

It took some effort but his breathing slowed down along with his erratic heartbeat.

When she saw that he had calmed down some she spoke the five most beautiful words he had ever heard, "Matt's alive and in recovery"

He almost collapsed from the relief that washed over him, a feeling that he hadn't felt in what felt like eternity. But then he remembered how quickly his luck could turn and wondered when the other shoe was going to drop.

-Tom-

Hearing that Matt was in recovery made his heart soar but he was also confused at how this could be? The last time he had seen his youngest he had been rapidly losing blood and Anne was over him fighting to keep him alive.

He gave her an imploring look, needing her to tell him what was going on and how that was possible.

Seeing his look Anne excused herself and walked over to him, leading him away from Hal who appeared to be in a stunned daze.

"How is he recovering so quickly Anne? He was bleeding out the last time I saw him" he stopped them and turned to face her, he was starting to believe that she had only said that to calm Hal's fears and prevent him from going berserk.

"I'm aware of that, believe me it was really touch and go there, especially with the attack going on but I managed to stop the bleeding and get his heart started up again"

"And the blood?" he knew that Matt would've needed a blood transfusion and he knew that he hadn't given him one so who had?

Catching on to what he was talking about she explained, "It had still been too soon since you donated blood to Hal and you were fighting so I had to use someone else. Me"

At this confusion marred his face.

"I'm a universal donor, I couldn't risk using Ben's blood because I don't know how much or if any of it has been manipulated because of his harness, this was the safest option" she explained.

It was now that he noticed the bandage on her forearm, the place where her blood had passed over into Matt.

"Thank you so much Anne" he made sure to be careful of her arm as he brought her into a hug. He had completely forgotten that he was covered in blood and skin fragments until he had pulled back and saw that Anne was now covered in blood as well.

"Sorry" he said,

"It's okay, I've been covered in worse" she retorted, managing to bring some levity to a dark situation.

-Hal-

Still in a daze over what Anne had just said he didn't notice until it was too late that Pope had decided to make an appearance.

**A/N: For those who seriously thought I could kill Matt SHAME ON YOU! While it did pain me to write that it was an essential part for what is coming in the final chapter, which is the next one! Please review, and while I understand the reasons behind only TWO reviews for my last chapter I really need encouragement to build up if there is going to be a sequel, I have been thumbing around with some ideas but I may need some help. **

**Also, no reviews at all results in my confidence in this story dropping and the longer it will take me to be inspired to update again! Just saying!**


	29. I'm Alive

-Pope-

Before the attack happened Pope had been in the medical tent, lying in a bed only a few down from where the fucking razorback who had shot him laid, he feigned sleep as the shit continued to hit the fan.

He watched as the razorback scum had a psychotic episode, but at first he was convinced that he was talking to the aliens like the little alien spy he was but that idea quickly went out of the window when Hal got this strange look in his eyes. Muttering to himself, shaking his head almost as if in denial until finally he rose from the cot and walked on shaky legs, almost collapsing but finally making it to the cot and taking the gun.

Pope was sure that only for a split second did he even think about stopping the teen but that idea was snuffed out when he remembered what the little shit had done to him and rage filled him. He watched as he went back to the cot and collapsed, the gun cradled in his hands.

Still appearing to be listening to some invisible presence he watched in twisted pleasure as he raised the gun and moved the muzzle towards his quivering lips.

Good, he thought, let the razorback shoot his own brains out, that'll save him the trouble, the only bad part was that he wouldn't be the one who pulled the trigger.

But of course papa Smurf had to come and save the day, just like he always did and not for the first time he wished the man would die already, maybe then things like this would begin to go in his favor.

The inevitable struggle over the gun occurred and of course Pope was rooting for Hal to win and blow and his brains out but things don't always come out as we wish. The gun went off and after hearing a strangled sound of pain Pope looked and saw that the youngest Mason had been shot.

The only Mason that he didn't really have anything against.

And the events continued from there, as far as he was aware Matt had survived and then the aliens had attacked.

Not one to stand back and cower away from a fight he threw the thin covers off, snatched the gun that had been used to shoot Matt and left the tent, not even flinching when a loud, earth shattering explosion happened and sent many people to the ground. He was on a mission.

First he would kill some alien scum then, as soon as he got the chance, he would put a whole clip into a certain razorback's head.

Pope watched as humans were slaughtered around him, blood coating the hangar floor like a biblical river and the anguished and pain filled screams that echoed off the walls. He tuned all this out, only focusing on the battle at hand.

When things finally started to calm down and the remaining aliens had retreated Pope waited in the background and listened as the good Dr. Glass reported to Hal and Tom that Matt was recovering. It was when the doctor led Tom away, leaving the razorback alone, that he struck.

Having emptied his clip of bullets during the battle he had to abandon the gun, which was unfortunate because he was really looking forward to shooting the razorback but he had managed to grab a blade out of a corpse's death grip, the man's eyes opened in horror and mouth forever frozen in a piercing scream as his intestinal organs were ripped out of his stomach by a skitter's deadly claws.

The razorback's back was turned to him, leaving him open for attack. A malicious grin formed on his face, his grip on the handle of the blade tightened and his pace increased.

When he was only a mere inches away from him, the blade slightly raised in the air, Hal whipped around and grabbed his arm before he could bring the blade down into his side.

And the struggle began.

-Hal-

Right before Pope attacked the back of my neck felt like millions of little insects were crawling all over it and the noises in the dwindled down to white noise. He couldn't help the momentary amazement he felt when the unmistakable sound of a heartbeat reached his ears, it was erratic and thrumming with adrenaline and it seemed to be getting closer if at all possible.

It wasn't until the sleight change of wind that he realized that the heartbeat was in fact moving and its owner was standing right behind him, the darkness covering the person's intentions made the insects start to dig their pinchers into the back of his neck.

Whipping around he instinctively raised his hand just in time to grasp the blade that was aimed for his side, the sharp sides cutting into his hand, blood began to weep down his hands making his grip on the blade lessen.

Pope must have seen this as his chance because he kicked Hal in the stomach and as he stumbled back slid the blade through his palms, opening the palms of his hands up and causing even more blood to stream down.

Catching his breath Hal dodged an attack by Pope that came very close to slitting his throat and instead received a long jagged cut on his forearm when his arm went up to protect himself.

Much like when he had been fighting the aliens the pain sensors in his mind shut off and all he felt was rage. Letting the rage guide his movements he lunged at Pope and managed to bring him down to the ground. He didn't known when his hands found their way around Pope's neck, or when he started pounded the back of his skull into the ground and he definitely didn't know when the dagger had been plunged deep into his right shoulder.

He was only returned to reality when his dad and a few standing soldiers had managed to pry him away from the barely conscious Pope and the pool of blood that was slowly forming around his head like a demonic halo.

With the blood covering every part of his body, his legs laid out straight below him and his arms spread out cross style Pope resembled Jesus when he was nailed to the cross.

It was almost an insult to be comparing Pope and Jesus but that was the only image that came to mind when Hal looked at what he had done.

-Tom-

It was almost surreal when Tom watched the events unfold. He always knew that Pope had no issue starting fights and when it came down to it killing, he even recognized that Pope would gladly take out Ben or Hal if given the chance but to see it happen a second time in less than 24 hrs. was not something he thought even Pope was capable of, especially since the last time he had gone head to head with Hal it had resulted in him with a dozen or so bullets in his gut.

All he had been able to do was watch as Pope advanced on his son, a gleaming blade in hand and malicious intent shining like coals in his eyes. His mind screamed at him to do something, to attack and protect his son but his feet wouldn't move.

When the blade moved to stab into Hal's side his son whipped around just in time to avoid the attack and grab the blade between his palms. He could see the blood dribbling down his arms like slithering snakes.

The rest happened almost in a blur and soon Hal was kneeling over Pope coming very close to smashing the back of his skull in.

Tom can honestly say, with little to no hesitation that Pope was not high on his list of people that he would be willing to risk his life for but he knew that Hal wouldn't be able to live with himself if he did kill the man. He had already been through so much, his mind still wasn't completely healed from what had happened to Matt and this was surely the final straw that would cause his son another mental breakdown, one that he most probably wouldn't recover from, or it would inevitably lead to him shutting everyone out.

Running forward, along with a few other people, they gripped onto Hal, who resisted them with the strength of a bucking bull, but they got him away from Pope who appeared to still be alive but only time would tell considering the mess that his body had become, especially the back of his skull.

Slowly Hal came back to himself and his movements stilled. He watched as mixed emotions danced across Hal's face but the most prominent and repeated emotion was fear. Hal tried to back, his breathing picking up but his eyes remained on Pope's bloody and beaten body.

-Hal-

Oh god, what had he done?! He couldn't take his eyes off the gruesome sight that Pope made and his feet subconsciously tried to take him away from the scene but the people holding him back were blocking him and he only got about an inch a half away.

Dr. Glass was kneeling next to Pope, a bag filled with medical supplies beside her and she was checking his pulse.

From the grim expression on her face it wasn't looking good.

He was sickened to find that a part of him, the part the doppelganger had exposed, felt elated at the possibility that Pope might not live and this sent a chill up his spine.

-Anne-

As soon as Hal was restrained she had sped to Pope's side and began looking over his wounds, the most obvious of course was the giant gash she found across the back of his skull.

Checking his pulse she was almost scared to note that it was beating sluggishly, like a dying battery that was holding onto every speck of power it had left. She honestly didn't know if she could save Pope. Without an X-ray or MRI it was impossible to tell what, if any, damage had been done to the brain and with the way his skull had been bashed into the hard concrete she was betting that there was definitely some type of damage.

There was a miniscule possibility that he could live but she had a feeling, as inhumane and evil as it sounded, that it would be easier if Pope didn't survive. And knowing the man that Pope was, he would rather die than have to live with a disability for the rest of his life.

Looking over at Hal she quickly noted the blood was practically seeping down his hands and the bleeding hole in his shoulder, those would be needing stitches and quickly from the gushing blood she noted. But what chilled her to the bone was the look that lasted for only a second, this was a look of pure glee, it vanished quickly and was replaced with terror.

She didn't know what to think of this but she bookmarked it for later, right now she had wounded people to look after.

Signaling Dr. Thomas over she had him and his two assistants take Pope into the medical tent to do what they could for Pope, right now Anne needed to take care of Hal.

Walking over to the visibly shaken teen she shooed off the people that were keeping a hold of Hal, besides his father, and once they were gone she started talking in a soothing voice.

"I'm going to take care of you, okay? I'm just gonna take a look at those wounds of yours" she spoke to him like you would a frightened, wounded animal and with Hal's anxious eyes and stance that looked ready to spring away at the slightest touch.

Tom kept a reassuring hand on Hal's back, she could tell that this wasn't just a way to calm the teen either, he was also trying to keep Hal from bolting and she could see how much this pained him.

Taking his hands she inspected the cuts, "I'm going to need to take him to the medical tent so I can get a better look" she was mainly speaking to Tom at this point because looking at Hal showed that he was in his own world, she wouldn't be surprised if he wasn't even seeing her right now.

Nodding his head Tom gently led Hal forward, the teen slowly walked along, his gaze continued to be seeing right through everything and everyone.

-Hal-

Sounds and the people around him meant nothing, as far as he was aware he was the only one on the planet right now. He was numb, every organ in his body had ceased to function and his very soul had vacated his being.

He was a soulless walking corpse that was forever doomed to walk the earth and his only companion was the demented form that would spend its time making sure he remembered every vile, sickening act **they** had committed.

His feet were moving, that he was aware of, and then he was sitting and he thought he could hear murmuring in the background but he couldn't be sure, it was like putting your ear to a speaker, the music is blasting but instead of hearing the words being sung all you hear is the static in the background and thrumming vibrations.

Suddenly feeling returned when he felt a rather hard pain in his right side. Letting out a rather unmanly squeak he practically fell off the bed in shock and this caused his hands and shoulder to flare in pain.

A light chuckling could be heard and he turned his head to find Maggie wearing a rather guilty smirk and a laid back pose.

"I was wondering where you went" she said playfully as she sat down, resting her hands in her lap, her weapon slung to her side.

He didn't know what to say to her, they hadn't really talked since he had come back. It had seemed like she was avoiding him, which he understood considering all that had happened. But why was she talking to him now? And better yet, why was she acting like nothing had happened between them?

The inevitable awkward silence happened, him not knowing what to say and her probably trying to come up with a way to bring up why she was talking to him again.

She finally broke the silence with a made-up-her-mind sigh and turned her body to face him.

"I know you and I haven't been talking much lately, and with everything that's happened I mean-fuck I have no fucking clue what I'm trying to say here" she muttered, shaking her head.

Looking at her from the corner of his eye he could see that she was fiddling with the strap on her gun, her boots thunking on the floor in a nervous beat.

"I tried to kill Pope, again" he couldn't hold back the bitter laugh at the end.

She froze at his comment, probably not expecting him to say that. Truthfully, he had no idea why he had said that, the words had left his lips before he had had a chance to fully think them through and consider a better first sentence.

He continued speaking, letting his mouth go on autopilot and say whatever it wanted.

"Every time I close my eyes all I can see is Mattie covered in blood and his cries of pain echo in my mind. And that's not all, I remember everything that happened when I was under, it's the sickest, most vile home videos I've ever had to stomach and this thing in my head loves reminding me of all the people I've killed and hurt. I haven't died yet, not from lack of trying of course, and already I'm in hell. But then again maybe I have died and this is my penance" looking over at Maggie he could see tears silently falling from her eyes.

This should have been the time where he stopped talking and comforted her, but his mouth had other plans. He continued to speak.

"But if I am alive, then the people I care about are still in danger because of me. Realistically I know that I'm not the only danger out there but the last thing my own family should have to worry about is whether or not I'm going to kill them in their sleep. That bullet that hit Mattie should have gone into my head, maybe then I could take away this black cloud of death that just seems to follow me everywhere" self-loathing tears cascaded down his cheeks and he furiously wiped them away.

His eyes traveled over to the bed where Mattie slept, there were multiple sheets that covered him and made him seem so small and fragile. He still hadn't woke up and while Anne said that that was normal considering the blood loss and trauma Hal was still afraid that his little brother may never wake up, and it would be all his fault.

Pope was in the medical van now, with Dr. Thomas and Anne doing everything they could for him with the available supplies they possessed. There was a strong part of him that was horrified and dismayed at what he had done to Pope but another part, one that cackled with delight was hopeful that the man wouldn't pull through.

A flash went through his mind and he saw Maggie strapped down, begging him to stop with blood covering a good portion of her body. He shook his head and stood up from the bed. Another flash happened and this time he found himself transported back in time when the doppelganger had been torturing Maggie and his dad.

Maggie's screams collided off the walls and created a chilling echo effect along with his father's pleas for the doppelganger to stop. He was powerless as the doppelganger carved into her abdomen. The scene melted away and was replaced with the horrifying, acidic taste in the mouth image of Maggie struggling on the ground, her face turning an unnatural blue and her eyes looked like they were about to pop out of her skull like party balloons.

But then something happened that he knew for a fact did not actually occur, he may not have been consciously active in the real world but he was smart enough to know that what he was watching was fiction.

The doppelganger kept one hand firmly gripped around her windpipe and reached over to pick up the discarded screwdriver. Before he knew what was happening it drove the sharpened end of the screwdriver deep into her heart.

Hal screamed, trying to rush to her aid but was unable by an invisible wall.

Blood began to blossom over her heart and her movements completely stilled. Eyes widened and mouth slacked. Out of the corners of her mouth trickled blood that bubbled into a creamy red color. The air that was trapped in her lungs whistled out, her eyes clouded over and she ceased to be.

Maggie was dead.

Hal began to sob uncontrollably, dropping to his knees and hanging his head in defeat.

-Maggie-

As soon as Hal started to scream Maggie shot up from the cot and went to his side, she held him as he dropped to his knees, his body shook from the sobs that wracked his body.

It was surreal to see this kind of emotion from Hal, mainly because she was having trouble separating the monster that had controlled him and the Hal that she knew and deeply cared for.

Wrapping her arms around his shaking form she began to rub his back, whispering in his ear that it was okay, that everything was going to be fine, he was fine and so was she. Slowly the sobs ebbed away and the shaking died down completely. His breathing was still a little shaky but he had calmed down a lot which was what she was aiming for.

Hal talking about all the emotions and thoughts that had been waging a war with his conscious she had been shocked. Maggie was aware that Hal had to be going through some kind of turmoil but she didn't know it was to this extent.

She had been in the background when Hal had tried to kill himself, it wasn't until she had overheard a conversation going on between a few soldiers that she even knew that Matt had been shot as a result of Hal's attempted suicide. It broke her heart to hear that Hal had been in such a dark place that the only solution he saw was to take his own life.

The defeated form that she held now was nothing like the monster that had tortured her. This was the Hal that she had slowly been falling for since the day they first met. Noted it wasn't the best first meeting but she was just glad that something good had come out of it.

-Hal-

When Maggie wrapped her arms around him he couldn't stop his body from leaning into her touch, starving for the comfort that her presence offered. He knew that he didn't deserve this, he deserved to be publicly burned to death but he was selfish and did not state this.

He just wanted to pretend for a few more seconds that the world had never been invaded, Ben and himself had never been harnessed and his mom was still alive. There were many other events that he wished were nothing but fiction but his mom being alive was one of the top three. For just a moment he could pretend that it was his mother holding him, comforting him and telling him everything was going to be alright.

The illusion was broken however by the screams of man in pain two beds over. Lourdes rushed to his aid, casting a curious and somewhat somber glance their way but quickly got to work.

Pulling away from the embrace he turned to look at her and couldn't hold back his scream at the sight that greeted him. Instead of seeing Maggie he was face to face with her rotting corpse. Maggots were crawling out of the cracked hole that once held her brain, her eyes were nothing but dried up garlic bulbs, skin was leathery and peeling off and what remained of her hair was nothing but spidery strands that dripped off in puddles. What was once a cute nose was now nothing but two thin holes, her hands were long and elongated showing off every bone that was in her and creaked with each movement.

A maggot felt from her eyehole and landed on his hand, it wiggled around on his flesh, slimy and soft and he jerkily flapped his hand to shake the disgusting flesh eating bug off.

Shooting away from her and to the other side of the room he could hear Maggie calling his name, but it sounded all wrong, it was gravely and the words were almost wheezed out. Not wanting to look, but knowing that he would give in sooner or later he finally looked over at Maggie and was greatly relieved and startled to find that zombie Maggie was gone and replaced with very much alive non rotting Maggie.

Dark laughter resonated around the room and he turned to find the doppelganger sitting on the bed beside him, basking in its sickening joke. Of course it was the doppelganger, keeping its promise and making his life hell.

Looking back at Maggie he could see that fear and concern that shone like a beacon in her posture and eyes. He could also see that she was holding her right arm, a bruise already starting to form. Oh god he had hurt her, he didn't even know when that had happened, it had to have been when he had been plagued with the image of a rotting Maggie and shooting across the room.

She was another victim of himself, so many people had been hurt and killed because of him and now he had to make the choice, one of the hardest ones he's ever had to make, to protect the people he loved. Maggie was one of the last people he ever wanted to hurt, he deeply cared for her and this wasn't the first time she had been hurt because of him.

He was dangerous and this couldn't go on. Something had to be done.

Getting up from the floor he walked past the doppelganger, then Maggie and exited the tent.

-Maggie-

She was stunned, sitting on the cold floor cradling her throbbing arm all she could do was watch as Hal walked off, she had no idea where his destination was but there was steel resolve in his eyes and it made her concerned about his actions.

The fear in his eyes when he had looked at her had left her mystified and even a little hurt. Just what had he seen that had scared him so badly? And the way he had violently shook his hand, almost as if trying to shake something off had resulted in her receiving a rather hard smack to the arm. Already she could feel the welt growing beneath her skin where the impact had occurred.

Before Hal had been taken a thump like that wouldn't have hurt at all, while he had had some muscle before now it was on an entirely differently level. The force behind the hit had gone from a mild tap from a bat to a full on swing with a crowbar.

When she had first met Hal she had been able to overpower him with a simple flick of her wrist but now she would be lucky to last a minute in a fight against him. It had been a long time since she had felt so weak. And she didn't like it.

She was taken out of her thoughts by the sound of Hal's footsteps walking past her. Instead of acting quickly and getting up to stop him, she remained seated, contemplating her next move. She didn't know what Hal was planning, though she did have some ideas, all she knew was that whatever it was it would affect not only his family and Anne, but herself as well.

Standing up from the floor she dashed after him, a moment of panic hit her when she couldn't see him anywhere but relaxed a little when she saw him lifting a backpack onto his shoulders. Jogging over to him she put her hand on his arm, getting his attention.

-Hal-

He filled a stray backpack with some essentials, a few granola bars a canteen of water and a few other things, he did feel bad about taking some of the mass. supplies but he made sure that it was only a minimal amount, one that they shouldn't even notice.

Just as he was lifting the straps over his shoulders he felt someone place their hand on his shoulder. He didn't have to turn around to know who the hand belonged to, it may not make sense but he could tell by the presence whom the owner was.

Biting the figurative bullet he turned and looked at Maggie, instantly he could see the concern and fear in her eyes.

He watched her eye his backpack, see the words forming on the tip of her tongue.

"So that's it huh? You're just going to pack up and leave?" the look she gave him made him feel like a small child being scolded by a little league coach after a bad game.

Hal shook his head, wishing that she would just let him go but of course Maggie was stubborn, it was one of the things he liked most about her but right now he really didn't need this. He was already struggling with this decision and he didn't need her piling even more guilt on him.

"You don't understand Maggie, I'm dangerous okay? I've already managed to seriously hurt Pope twice, Ben and I shot Mattie! There is nothing you can say that will change my mind. The further away I am from the Mass. the safer everyone will be. I'm fucked up in the head alright? I already have blood on my hands, of innocent humans, I'm not going to risk killing anyone else, even that bastard Pope; if he's not already dead!" stating his case, he shrugged past her and walked out of the hangar headed anywhere but here.

He wasn't at all surprised to hear the crunching of boots behind him, sensing another fight coming he kept his back to her and continued walking, hoping that she would get the hint and go back. She didn't.

Getting a good grip on his shoulder she spun him around, her eyes filled with conviction.

"You honestly think I'm going to let you walk away with that lame ass excuse? People were being hurt and killed long before you were harnessed and good people will continue to get hurt and killed even after you leave. I can respect that you want to protect us but by you leaving your only hurting us. Tom and your brothers were a wreck when you were taken, they hardly ate or slept, Anne practically had to force feed them! I can only imagine what will happen if you leave again and I can guarantee you that Tom will just go after you and I'll be there to help him and so will Ben hell even Mattie will help, it'll be like a fucked up family road trip to bring your stupid ass home!" she was breathing heavily halfway through her speech but the fire in her eyes never wavered.

For a long moment Hal was speechless, he had expected an argument but he wasn't prepared for this one. Everything she said had facts to back them up, he knew that his family would be saddened by his departure, he knew that people would continue to get hurt and killed even after he left and he was all too aware of his father's crusade to keep his loved one's safe but it all came back to his first argument: he was dangerous.

There was no changing the crimes he had committed, he had hurt the ones he loved and the fiery pain he felt throughout his entire body every time he remembered the inhumane and vile acts he had committed was only one of the consequences he would have to live with. The doppelganger was another fallout that he would have to endure until the day he died.

"You can point out all the reasons that I should stay, you can have my entire family beg me not to go but the bottom line is that no one is safe around me. What happens when I have another episode, because we both know it's inevitable, and I manage to get my hands on a gun hell I don't even need a firearm and I go on a killing spree? I could kill each and every one of you with my bare hands and no one could stop me! Ben couldn't and he's the strongest one compared to the rest of you. What they did to me can't be fixed, I'm a monster Maggie, it's as simple as that so turn around and go" he looked her dead in the eye, making sure that he was getting his point across.

For the longest time they stood in silence, staring each other down, neither one willing to admit defeat.

Thunder began to rumble in the background and storm clouds rolled out into the sky, painting the sky with blotches of black and wispy gray, setting the backdrop for pain and sorrowful resolution.

-Maggie-

Looking into his eyes she could see the pain and misery that this was causing him. He didn't want to go, she could blatantly see that but his resolve was set in steel, but so was hers and she was going to do everything in her power to make him see reason, to give him a reason to stay.

Walking closer to him she reached out and caressed his cheek, her fingers ran across faint scars and a chiseled jawbone. He closed his eyes and leaned into her touch, placing his larger calloused hand over hers.

"Please don't make this harder" he whispered, his voice nothing but a butterfly kiss against her skin.

"Then stop me" her eyes traveled down to his lips, they were slightly parted and shallow breaths escaped.

Opening his eyes he met her gaze and it was in that instant that she could see his resolve begin to crumble, the steel bricks that were closing in on him were starting to rust and fall apart.

Before she could get another breath in his lips were upon her, encasing her entire soul in warmth. Wrapping her arms around his neck she deepened the kiss, breathing into him her entire soul and praying that she hadn't completely lost him.

-Hal-

His backpack fell off his back and hit the dying grass with a thump, but they took no notice, too lost in the sensations of their hands rubbing skin and lips tasting the other's very essence.

Straying hands went down Maggie's sides and wrapped around her waist, lifting her up and turning around to lean her back against a gutted out pickup truck. She moaned and he slipped his tongue into her mouth, his own moan of ecstasy slipped out at the flavors her mouth held. She tasted like strawberries and another wild, exotic flavor that was uniquely her.

Maggie wrapped her legs around his torso, with her up against the truck he was able to move his hands to the sides of her face so that he was now leaning into her.

There was a large, black hole part of him that felt like he was not only disrespecting Karen but moving on way too fast. He was devastated when he had made the realization that Karen was dead, it was one that the doppelganger was particularly happy about broadcasting all hours of the day. He had mourned her loss and he would always miss her but the last conversation he had had with the real Karen still struck a giant cord with him.

She hadn't believed in him, hadn't for a while from what he could remember. He had loved her, there was no doubting that but when she had expressed her lack of faith in him he began to see her in a different light. She was still the nice girl that he had met, had her own inner strength and beauty but she never challenged him, they had a pattern that he could recite in his sleep.

Maggie on the other hand was always challenging him, keeping him on his toes, she called him on his bullshit and stood up for what she believed in. She was also very independent and was willing to do whatever she had to, to protect the people she cared about.

But could he really justify moving on so fast?

His head involuntarily moved up when Maggie started laying open mouth kisses along his neck and jaw line, her hands wandered up his chest and massaged the area above his heart.

Both of their breaths were coming out ragged their lips were swollen from kisses. When the time came for them to separate both were reluctant and only moved their lips away from each other but their bodies stayed in the same position.

"Say you'll stay" she breathed, her eyes heavy with emotion and tears.

He licked his lips, his heart and mind pulling him in two different directions. If he did decide to stay he would be putting her and everyone else in danger but he would also get to be with her and explore the feelings that were developing between them. And if he did leave he would be protecting the Mass. from him but that would also mean having to leave Maggie and never knowing what could have been between them.

What was the right choice?

"Maggie I-"

The chilling, unmistakable metallic groan of a mech.

Hal was about to spin around to attack when he found himself face to face with a skitter. Once again, before he could react the skitter reached out and gripped him by the throat, cutting off his air supply and effortlessly lifted him off the ground. Its claws were digging into his skin and blood was flowing down his neck and decorating the yellow grass below him.

A single shot was suddenly fired and part of the skitter's head was blown off. Hal's ears were ringing at the close proximity shot and he had no doubts that it was Maggie that had taken the shot. Having been released and subsequently dropped to the ground like a bag of rocks.

In the background he could hear more gunfire going off and looking over at the hangar he saw that people had come to fight. They had already lost too many good people in an earlier fight and they were going to take this time to avenge the fallen.

Without thinking he grabbed Maggie by the hand and started to run back towards the hangar, narrowly avoiding bullets that were flying all around them. He was almost the hangar when he was electrocuted with one of the mech's stun guns, his entire body shook and he collapsed to the ground, bringing Maggie down with him as well due to the current that had run through her but to a lesser extent.

Recovering quickly Maggie tried to get him up as well but his vision was starting to darken and his limbs were numb, there was no way that she would be able to help him. She had to go on by herself.

"Maggie go!" he gritted out, coming up behind him he could hear more gun fire and he surmised that the aliens had brought with them harnessed kids to be their backup knowing that it was hard for many of the humans to shoot them.

Before she could retort though a large blast was sent her way and she was knocked off her feet, traveling through the air and landing five feet away. Hal screamed out her name, vainly reaching out for her.

It wasn't long before he was surrounded by a group of harnessed, their expressions lifeless and movements mechanical. Through his connection with the spikes in his spine he could make out the orders they were being given: To take the traitor back to base.

Lifting him up they began to carry him further away from the hangar.

Turns out he didn't have to make a choice, one was made for him.

**There you have it, the final chapter for SAVE ONE. I would now like to take this time to inform everyone that yes there is a sequel but I have made prior commitments with another story of mine, a transformers fanfiction called A LINKED DESTINY, a story I have been neglecting so I will be devoting my time to that story. **

**The next installment of this story will be written so keep an eye out for it.**


End file.
